


Don't ever look back

by Ihavearaccoonfact



Series: I don’t know where you think I have gone [1]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Agoraphobia, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Ben dies in every universe, Butt Plugs, Captivity, Crying, Daddy Kink, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Delusional Tony Stark, Depression, Dirty Talk, Gen, Homophobic Language, Jealousy, Lingerie, M/M, Masturbation, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Minor Character Death, Murder, Non-Consensual Oral Sex, Obsessive Behavior, Past Rape/Non-con, Possessive Behavior, Prison, Protective Natasha Romanov, Rimming, Sexual Violence, Slow Burn, Spoiled Tony Stark, Stalking, Suicide Attempt, Supportive May Parker (Spider-Man), Tony Stark is not Iron Man, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:08:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 15
Words: 70,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25807135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ihavearaccoonfact/pseuds/Ihavearaccoonfact
Summary: Tony Stark imprisoned for his most recent DUI has lost all joy in life. A chance encounter with another inmate - Skip Westcott has brought Tony a new passion. Enter Peter Parker a  teen overcome with anxiety and agoraphobia and Skip's former victim trying to get through life after trauma only to now have a new stalker obsessed with him.
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Peter Parker/Skip Westcott, Peter Parker/Tony Stark
Series: I don’t know where you think I have gone [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893802
Comments: 211
Kudos: 230





	1. Why are the walls, the emotions, and the food all grey? (Tony)

**Author's Note:**

> This was beta'd by the very lovelys livvibee and TheOnlyCeeCeeJ.  
> talc,skippjo94, and Nelalila, livvibee, and TheOnlyCeeCeeJ have helped me so much on this fic.  
> Also thanks to Harishe for not only my amazing icon that depicts me perfectly but also for telling me what color the prison uniforms are.

The greyness of the prison cell walls always reminded Tony of what color his atrophied liver probably looked like. Tony looked over at his towels and shirts covering the ever-present fluorescent lights in the single-man cell. The fabric blocked some of the offending light but it was still enough to read by even at three in the morning. Tony knew this attempt at sleep without his little helper was fruitless. He got up from his fingernail thin mattress and started rummaging through his open door locker. Tony found his cherished prison liquor, motioned a cheers sign, and gulped down the contents. A not dissimilar scene has been played out daily for the last two and a half years of Tony’s three and a half year sentence at the Metropolitan correctional center in New York City for his third DUI.

His first DUI at seventeen was a harmless child’s mistake. His second was a clusterfuck that broke his arm and both his legs at thirty-six, and his third at his forty-fourth birthday party was a colossal fuck up of epic proportions. Instead of enjoying his party Tony had gotten into a massive fight with his only true friend Rhodey over cutting back and acting like an adult. In a tantrum, Tony grabbed the keys to his newly purchased Bugatti and drove it headfirst into a lamppost within a quarter of a mile from the party.

"No one was hurt. As the furious police arrived at the scene, Tony was left with a bump on the head, and the growing realization that none of his half-hearted bribery could make the arrest go away." No amount of lawyering, bill throwing, or Pepper’s smooth-talking could erase this being his third offense. The prosecution, the judge, the public wanted a real sentence and no promise of rehab would appease them. He was given the most severe sentence possible, three to five years, and a ten-year probation. 

He lost a tidy sum of wealth; pennies to his hoard, his position of CEO of his company, the respect of his on and off again girlfriend Pepper. But most importantly, his friendship with Rhodey ended on his sentencing day. Their last conversation had been in the courthouse with Tony in cuffs and Rhodey looking dejected and disappointed at Tony.

“Tones I told you, I begged you after your second DUI to get help. I tried so hard all these years to keep you from spiraling. I’m sorry man, this is the end. I don’t want to see you again.” And he just walked away, walked away from Tony at his lowest.

Now Tony spent his days in a drunken stupor from prison wine that was priced at a rate of what he’d expect from a fine restaurant, in all too bright lights, grey walls, grey food, grey everything. 

With no correspondence, friends, or family, and only one-sided messages from Pepper who silently filled his requests and commissary account monthly. There were no seasons in prison. Year-round heat and A.C. meant it was a steady 70 degrees Fahrenheit every day. The windows in the cells were narrow with a frosted tape hiding the outside world. Tony couldn't tell what month it was, or even season but he figured it had to be summer based on the guards talking about summer plans. The only thing that broke the monotony was his bi-weekly enforced AA meetings. Every Tuesday and Thursday Tony would find himself a tad tipsy in yet another grey room, with overgrown inmates in rickety chairs in a sharing circle discussing their state-enforced sobriety. New York Corrections were dead set on making Tony repent and to change but he had an  _ iron _ will to not.

Tony arrived at the meeting stone-faced, bored, and ready to silently judge his counterparts.  "When the door opened, Tony saw the expected counselor Hank McCoy, as well as a group of inmates who were not in the AA group."

“Sorry guys, Mrs. Frost is out today and we’re combining AA and NA for this session,” Hank explained as he sat at the reserved counselor seat. Several inmates groaned at the news of newcomers joining.

“Wow, an excuse to see even more men in green khaki uniforms, just my fetish,” quipped Wade.

“What’s that Freddy Kruger? Those of us who learned our colors in elementary and not in that socialist tundra know that this,’ Tony plucked at his uniform top “ _ is olive green.” _

“Oh wow, Stark is that you? I could hardly see you in your family’s disappointed shadow.”

“Enough guys, let’s be civil. We’re only combining for today, and after that, both of you can go back to your corners and throw barbs from a distance.” Hank placated. 

“Let’s start today’s session off. Ah yes - uh, Skip, please tell us how your addiction led you here today.”

Tony looked over to the man Hank had pointed to. The man was lanky, sweaty, and very blonde. He w as hunched over caressing something in his hands. Heavy panting into himself. 

“I’m not here because of my cocaine addiction. I’m here for my addiction to another illegal substance, or as I like to call it, the best, tightest hole in the universe.”

The NA side shuffled distressingly. 

“Skip, we’ve discussed this. You need to take responsibility for your crimes and stop blaming your victim for you being here,” Hank said with an exhausted sigh.

A pause entered the room and a sudden realization came over one of the AA inmates.

“Wait a fucking second, is this fucking creep a child fucker? I don’t want to be here listening to this shit!’ The irate inmate yelled and began to get up and move towards the door.

“Sit down Cable, while you’re here you’re all trash.” The guard threatened.

“Fuck no. Look at that creep He’s fucking touching himself!” Cable points to Skip. All eyes flood to Skip and his hands.

“Skip,” Hank says warningly, “what’s in your hands?”

“Nothing.” Skip angled away from the counselor trying to protect his item.

“Skip, if you have another contraband item you may be removed to another unit where you might not be as protected as you are now.”

“You’re not taking him!” Skip leaped up and protectively held the item to his chest, looking around the room manically.

Hank motioned the guards to come forward with an exasperated sigh. 

“No! No! No! No! Don’t take him, it's not fair, he’s mine!” Skip wrestled with the guards with his hands still protective over the item. One of the guards made a strong kick behind Skip, and he came crashing down with the coveted item flying into the air and drifting down back and forth to the floor, and falling right at Tony’s boot. Before Skip could bring his head back from the floor, Tony had placed his boot on the paper and carefully slid it under his chair with his boot covering it. 

With the offending item missing from Skip’s view he became furious; screaming uncontrollably with the guards holding him down. “No NO NO NO! Where's Peter?! I want Peter! Give me him back you fucking cunts!” Screaming while the guards brought him up and dragged him out of the room, Skip’s wailing ricocheted in the silent room as he was dragged down the hall, presumably to the psych ward or straight to punishment. 

“Well,” Hank signed to the silent room. “Let’s just call it a day. Please return to your units and cells and next session will return to your normal groups.”

As the failed meeting cleared out Tony leaned down and slipped the paper into his boot. Once back in his cell Tony pulled Skip’s treasured item out, thinking “what could be worth this much to some tweaked out pedo?”

Tony turned the photo over and a cacophony of color flooded into his grey world.

  
  
  
  
  



	2. Sleeping is fun but have you tried staring into the void? (Peter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWs molestation, minor character death, rape  
> uh, so this is a lot longer than planned so yeah.  
> Also so going to hell after writing this.

Peter rubbed his red-rimmed tired eyes. He was staring at another tech support question that could be solved with a ten-second Google search. But this guy’s laziness was Peter’s little money gained. Peter worked as freelance tech support for very very little money to the masses that was utterly inept at computers. He looked at his computer screen corner seeing the time: 6:40 AM, 07/02. It had been a year since Peter had left the apartment. 

“Why do I need a _babysitter? I'm not a baby,”_ Peter pouted. 

“No, honey, you’re not a baby.” May kissed the top of Peter’s head. “But you’re seven, and that is too young to be alone while we’re at dinner.”

Peter pouted more, huffing into his Lego set.

“But,” she said, drawing out the word, “we found a fun, cool hip sitter for you.”

“Ben here got Mrs. Peterson’s nephew Skip to come over and to watch you, and have all sorts of fun guy activity.” 

There was a knock on the door. 

“I'm betting that’s him now.” Ben opened the apartment door. 

“Hey, right on time, son, come right in and meet our little guy.”

Peter looked up from his Lego and saw a tall blond teen smiling down at him.

“Hey there! You must be Pete! I'm Skip, we're going to have tons of fun tonight.”

That night Peter was allowed to watch whatever he wanted, and Skip brought candy for him. When the adult Parkers came home, Peter was more than happy to tell them about how great Skip was. Skip beamed, he was quickly becoming the Parker's favorite sitter. He and Peter got along great. Peter loved the extra candy, later bedtime, any TV show he wanted to watch. And Skip would always act like Peter was his favorite person to see. He would come right into Parker's apartment with a huge smile, candy, and all his attention to the youngest Parker.

It started small- years later, Peter would hear “grooming” from a therapist. After several weeks of childminding, Skip asked Peter for something.

“On your lap?”

“Yes, like Santa. Come sit on my lap and watch TV. I’ll let you watch anything you _want.”_

“Anything? Even South Park? Uncle Ben and Aunt May won’t let me watch that.” 

“Anything, and you can eat candy.”

Peter climbed up onto Skip’s lap. It was odd, but Peter, but his discomfort was placated with candy and raunchy cartoons. Peter barely noticed Skip’s hands rubbing his back, then his legs. When he started to rub his chest Peter spoke up. “Skip stop. That’s weird,” swatting his hands and began to wiggle out of the teen’s lap.

“Hey, hey, now I have just the thing.” Skip pulled out a bright pink bottle from his jacket.

“This is really tasty! It's a bubblegum flavor.” Skip looked so excited, showing it to Peter.

“Is it like a soda?”

“No, it’s really thick, like a milkshake. I drink it all the time.”

“I don’t know if I’d like it so _pink_ ” Peter wrinkled his nose at the color.

“This was so expensive, Pete, and I brought it just for you. You’re really hurting my feelings if you don’t drink it,” Skip morosely pouted. Peter felt terrible; after all, it’s bad to turn gifts away.

“Ok, Skip, since it's a gift, I’ll drink it.” Peter began to reach over to take the bottle from the teen’s hands when Skip stopped him. 

“That’s great little buddy, but let me help you.’’ Skip held the bottle to the boy’s lips tilting his head with his fingers intertwined in his hair.

Peter drank some and began coughing “Skip, that’s awful. I hate it!”

“No, no, no, Petey, you’re going to drink more,” Skip said, and shoved the bottle back to his lips. Peter struggled and tried to get away, but the teen was much stronger. And then all went black. 

Peter awoke to his bed, feeling tired and uncomfortable. He was in his pajamas, but the clothes were twisted, and he could tell he was not wearing any underwear. He could hear his guardians and Skip talking. “-he just went out like a light.” 

Peter got up from the bed and moved towards the voices, stopping when he reached them. 

“Oh, sweetie, it’s so late! Skip said you fell asleep watching cartoons, so he put you to bed.”

Peter looked directly at Skip. “Why did you give me that nasty stuff?” groaned Peter.

“What do you mean, Peter?” May questioned worriedly. “Skip, what is he talking about?”

“Nothing Ms. Parker. I made Peter use some wash mouth, and I looked away for a sec, and he had drunk some. I made him spit most of it out, but the little guy thought I poisoned him,” Skip shifted nervously. 

May and Ben looked relieved and fondly looked down at Peter.

“Oh, honey,” May said, “Skip was just helping. Now come on, off to bed.”

“No, Aunt May- he-” 

Ben bent down and scooped the youngest Parker up. “Come on sport, all wounds will close, and now you know mouthwash shouldn’t be drunk.” 

Peter watched over his uncle’s shoulder at how relieved Skip looked. Skip looked into Peter’s eyes and smiled in a way he never had before. It was like seeing a predator the moment it knew the prey was caught, and Peter felt like the prey. 

Every visit from Skip after that came with a demand for Peter to sit on Skip’s lap. Peter would refuse, and Skip would respond, “Ok, Petey, I'll tell Ben and May how bad you were tonight, and I’m sure no TV and no friends will be so fun for a few weeks.” Peter felt defeated. He became resigned to his growing hate for Skip and did what he was told. He’d sit in Skip’s lap, drink the awful pink drink given and wake up groggy and uncomfortable. 

And it continued. Peter thought he was used to the weekly ritual of threats and lap sitting till Skip didn’t bring the pink bottle out, and started to really touch Peter more roughly.

“Stop! Skip I don’t like this!” Peter fought and struggled in Skip’s grasp.

Skip stopped and held Peter’s arm with a bruising force. “Petey, I’m not going to stop because I’ve been doing this for months. And I’m not stopping as long as you're this cute and just,“ Skip’s long tongue licked Peter’s cheek leaving a long streak of spit that made Peter shiver in terror and disgust, “ _tasty_.”

Frozen in fear, with unshed tears, he went silent as Skip continued his violation. Touching and manipulating Peter’s body without his consent. Skip began to grunt and pant into Peter’s neck, rubbing between his legs. Peter couldn’t move, couldn’t speak as the grunting continued. After what felt like eons to Peter, Skip grabbed Peter’s arm bruisingly and whined a loud disgusting sound before he fell directly on Peter’s body, panting and sweating. 

After several moments Skip groggily moved off of Peter, smiling disorientedly at the traumatized child. “Ok, Petey baby, let’s get you ready for bed.” He got up from the couch and started to move Peter in a sitting up position when Peter gave a harsh flinch that Skip noticed. Skip went from jovial to something monstrous. He loomed over Peter holding his arm hard. 

“Petey, baby, nothing happened tonight, right?” When Peter didn’t move or speak, Skip gripped his arm harder. Peter cried out loud while tearing up.

“Petey? I asked you a question. Nothing happened tonight, right? We had a fun night, and Un-key Ben and Aunty May will be told how great of a time we had, right?”

Peter silently nodded, moving his head with enough force his tears flew. 

“Good! Let's get you to bed,” Skip singsonged.

For months the routine continued. Peter withdrew into himself, not knowing how to tell anyone about the abuse. May and Ben became concerned about Peter’s sudden changed behavior. They stopped going out on weekends to focus on Peter. And with the relief of not being molested weekly, Peter had succumbed to a pleasant sense of safety until one Tuesday, after over a month of no Skip, May brought Peter to the library. 

“Peter stay in the kid’s section, alright? I’m going to the ladies, be back quick.” 

“Sure thing Aunt May,” Peter said, happily dancing around the science books. Humming and happy for the first time in months, he felt a coldness spread throughout his body when a large hand covered his shoulder.

“Hey Petey, _long time no see_.” Skip spoke low in Peter’s ear, looming over the child.

“I’ve noticed I haven’t been around lately. Did you say something, Petey? Something you shouldn’t have, maybe?” Skip held Peter’s shoulder in a punishing grip, squeezing as Skip continued speaking. 

“Petey? Petey, I asked you a question. Did you say anything to dear ol’ Uncley Ben or Aunty May?”

Tears welled up in Peter’s eyes. “N- no n- no Skip I’d never t- t- t- tell anyone.”

“Hmph. Good, that’s what I thought.” Skip straightened up, no longer as imposing as before, but still with a tight grip. 

“I see May is coming over this way. I’m going to say my hellos. And Petey, I’ll be seeing you real soon, or who knows what might happen to May? I think maybe May should go away?”

“N- no Skip,” Peter whispered, tears beginning to cover his cheeks.

“Then I should come around more, Petey. Understand?” 

Peter, tearfully silently nodded.

“Good.” With that Skip changed from the monster only Peter saw, to the upbeat facade of a teen everyone else saw. 

Skip scampered towards May smiling joyously. “May! How lovely to see you! I miss seeing little Petey.”

“Hello Skip, Ben and I haven’t been going out lately. Peter just needs more attention” May noticed Peter’s tear-streaked face, and ran over. “Peter, what's wrong? Why are you crying?”

“Oh yeah, I just spoke to little Petey, and the poor guy started crying and wailing about missing me.” 

Peter couldn’t believe what was happening. It was like everything in existence slowed down, and only he could see the heinous nature of Skip.

“Wow, if Peter missed you that much, maybe we can go out soon.”

“Yeah, I missed the fun times we had. I see Petey as the little brother I never had. I wish I could take the little guy everywhere if I’m being honest.” 

Saturday evening Peter couldn't stay still. He was flinching and shaking with every minute that got closer to Skip’s arrival. Peter knew tonight would somehow be worse than any other night with Skip. 

“Hey Peter, kid, you keep shaking all day, something wrong sport?”

“No, Uncle Ben just m- me” Peter stuttered. 

There was a hard-knocking at the door. If Ben had not turned his head away, he might have realized not all was right with Peter.

Skip appeared in the Parker's home, ecstatic in a way he’d never been before. He was beaming with joy, a hop in his step as he lazily toured the front room.

“Skip, you seem so happy today, you get some good news there?”

“Oh, no, Mr. Parker, sir, I just miss this little guy.” Skip reached over and roughly tousled Peter’s hair. “We’re going to have the best night tonight.” Skip stared down at Peter with a massive grin. 

“Peter, hon, come say goodbye and give a great big hug to Ben and me.”

Peter hugged Ben and May. Looking over May’s shoulder, Peter could see Skip’s predatory smile and a vulgar look in his eyes.

“Alright, you two have the time of your life! _Have fun!_ ” Skip sang as he led the adult Parkers out and latched the locks in place. 

Skip spun in place, causing Peter to flinch violently.

“Oh Petey, we’re going to have some fun tonight.”

Peter didn't bother bracing himself for what came next. Skip ran towards Peter, scooped him up, and threw him on the old couch. Peter bounced for a split second before Skip was on top of him groping and searching the smaller body. Peter whined in distress while Skip’s mouth was all over, devouring and tasting all of his skin. Peter was still during the consummation. Skip lifted his head, panting hard into Peter’s neck. It felt disgusting to Peter.

“I go- gotta watch out Petey, can't leave any marks. Can't explain that kind of thing away.’’ Skip reached behind into his back pocket and brought a long clear bottle out. 

“Main event Petey. Would've enjoyed this sooner if you didn't suddenly act so fucking strange.” With that, Skip dug his nails into Peter’s waist. Peter whimpered at the sudden pain.

“Hey, hey, it's ok, Petey,” Skip cooed. “All will be fine with this stuff. Now turn over. Get on your stomach,” Skip ordered.

Peter was too slow to comply; Skip impatiently grabbed Peter’s hip and flipped him over. Peter’s face was smashed into the rough fabric on the couch. Skip’s hands slid Peter’s pants and underwear down, and hands roughly grabbed Peter’s cheeks. The boy yelped in horror and looked back to regret it. Skip looked like a man possessed. Eyes wild, tongue out drooling, staring down at his coveted seized trophy. 

“Oh, Petey, I'm so happy we waited to do this,” he moaned into Peter’s neck.

The sound of the bottle top was deafening to Peter’s ears. Immediately something wet and sticky touched Peter’s hole. Wet fingers moving the liquid around his hole and with one tip breached, Peter yelped.

“It's ok Petey, gotta get used to it to get the bigger one in your tight cunt.”

Peter buried his face into the couch while Skip too quickly added more fingers, weakly scissoring Peter’s inner walls. Minutes went by with only the sounds of Skip’s panting filling the room. 

Finally, Skip spoke.“That's enough for now, Petey, now for the main event!”

Skip unzipped his jeans and rubbed his member a few times with the lube to coat, then lined up to the too-small, barely prepped hole, and pushed in with one motion.

Peter couldn't breathe. Everything was awful, and everything was burning. He felt he was being torn apart. Skip was so heavy, panting and sweating on him. Skip had an elbow painfully digging into Peter’s neck. Peter tried to think about anything - Lego, Pokemon, vegetables, anything but the disgusting man on top of him. 

Skip started to move faster using the smaller body with complete disregard for the boy. With a punishing grip Skip brought Peter closer and loudly groaned, releasing into Peter’s body. Skip hunched over with his face pushing into Peter's hair. He was breathing hard into Peter’s ear. Peter felt nauseous over Skip’s disgusting breath. Skip’s breathing finally evened out. He sat up and roughly pulled his cock out of the abused hole. Peter flinched from the rough treatment. His face became scarlet with embarrassment when he felt Skip’s finger probed around his hole.

“Not too bad, Petey, just a little blood here and there. It's like you were made for me, baby.” Skip moved away and pulled his jeans back up, lazily scratched his neck, and yawned. He started to speak, more to himself than to the mistreated child. 

“I know I should've used a rubber, but I just felt since it was our first time it should be special. And I love knowing part of me is in you. I’ll always be part of you from now on, Petey.” Peter looked at Skip’s dreamily expression and knew he was doomed. 

The weekly upgraded abuse continued. Weekend after weekend, Peter suffered the corruption from the teen. Skip rarely relented. Peter had to endure one way or another, either being speared open anally or orally, with Skip using his body as a sex toy manipulating into something for Skip to abuse and use. Afterward, Skip became increasingly affectionate. Requiring Peter not only to bring him to orgasm weekly but to tell Skip how much Peter loved the violation, forcing Peter to be held and caressed after the breach. 

Peter tried to separate Skip from the rest of his life. He wanted to be normal, he wanted to play Lego, and watch movies on the couch with Ben without throwing up, allow May to hug him without crying. Every time a Skip memory would surface with Ben and May, Peter would push it down, down into a little box he imagined was inside him, one that he internally labeled “Skip: Never open.”

Peter was fine, he told himself every day, every morning, and every night. Every reflection he saw of himself would come with a silent internal chant. “I am fine. I can live with this.”

After three years of degradation, Peter turned eleven and was now informed he was too old for a sitter.

“Hon, I know you like seeing Skip, but we think you should be able to be alone for a few hours a week,” May explained over breakfast a few weeks after Peter’s eleventh birthday.

“How do you feel about that, Pete?” May’s concerned face came close to Peter’s after his lack of response. Peter was stunned. And with May so close, he was snapped back into reality. No more Skip, no more pain, no more crying, no more wincing when he sat down, no more Skip. He broke out into a grin he hadn't seen on his own face for years.

“No, no, Aunt May, I'm so _old_ now I want to be alone- I mean, I can be responsible while you and Ben go out. I promise, I PROMISE!” Peter manically screamed in desperation, worried the prospect of no Skip would be rescinded.

“Honey, honey, calm down. I'm happy you’re excited, but you don't need to yell.”

Peter was buzzed with energy, happy, truly happy, and free. 

Friday evening found the youngest Parker eating a small dinner while Ben and May moved around him, preparing for a few hours out.

Peter happily ate his dinosaur-shaped mac and cheese humming when the door knocked. And a coldness overcame the boy.

May looked at Ben. “Ben, I thought you told Skip we wouldn't need him anymore?’’

“I tried to, but he felt he’d pop in to check on Peter. He was very adamant.”

“This won't do we-” May looked at Peter, pulling Ben aside with a hushed whisper. “Ben, Peter needs to be alone. He's a growing boy; this will help him grow into more self-reliant things.”

“Sorry, May, I’ll talk to the boy. It's just so sad how he wants to be here. A man his age should have a girl to spend time with on the weekends you know like I _do.”_ Ben gleefully nipped at May as she giggled.

“It's fine, Ben, you know _me,_ I’ll set the boy straight. You know how I am when I want something.’’

“Boy, do we.” Ben leaned down to Peter and whispered loud enough for May to hear.

“Hush,” She admonished, quickly moving towards the still knocking door.

“Skip, so nice to see you.” Skip smiled and started moving forward, “No, stop. Skip, my loving husband told me that he told you we wouldn’t need your services anymore. And yet you seem to have bullied the man into being here. But _I am telling you_ we will not need your services. Do you understand _me_?”

Skip was visibly angry at May’s words. “May I- but Petey needs,” Skip beg clumsily.

“No, Peter needs to be in situations where he’s alone to grow into a functioning adult _Skip.”_

Skip looked furious. With a deep scowl, Skip aggressively pushed inside.

“Hey! Fucking guy!” yelled May moving away from the door before it could smash her face.

“No, I know, Petey. He wants to see me. Pete!” Skip moved forward into the apartment.

Ben grabbed Peter’s arm and pointed him to his room. “Peter, go to your room. Close the door. Your aunt and I need to have an adult conversation with Skip here.”

Before Peter could run out of the kitchen, Skip spotted him and tried to yank back his arm. Ben stepped forward to stop it.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Don't grab at my boy. What-”

Peter’s door blocked the continuing argument out. Peter was afraid. Would his aunt and uncle be safe out there? Should he hide in his closet? Peter couldn't stop shaking; he could hear them all fighting. Then the front door slammed. A gentle knocking began at his bedroom door. 

“Peter, sweetie? Everything’s fine now; please come out. Ben and I want to talk to you.”

Peter got up from his hunkered spot in the corner, opening the door and following his aunt to the kitchen. Ben was already sitting looking very downcast before seeing Peter, and shifting to a more soft look at his nephew. 

“Sport, please sit with us for a minute.’’

“First off, sweetie, none of what happened tonight is your fault. Second, we don't feel comfortable with Skip being around you anymore.“

“Uncomfortable?! The guy’s a lunatic screaming because he lost his sitter’s job.” scoffed Ben.

“Peter, we’re staying in tonight, but we want to know if you’ll be fine alone next week?”

“Yes, Aunt May, I'm fine with being alone after tonight.”

“That's great sweetie, let’s you, me, and Ben watch a movie together till bedtime, ok?”

Peter nodded. His discomfort over sitting on the couch he'd been defiled so many times before was pushed down with the delight and security of sitting between his beloved aunt and uncle. Peter tried as he might, but had a nagging feeling that Skip would retaliate in some way and that Peter needed to be watchful.

Days went by, and Peter still flinched at every shadow he passed and jumped at every noise. Tuesday afternoon, Peter pushed the apartment door open and was about to call out when he heard the name “Skip” coming from the kitchen. Peter quietly snuck in and walked toward the voices.

“I can't believe we allowed someone like that to watch our little guy,” cried Aunt May at the kitchen table with Ben.

“You think you know someone, and they do this. It's a damn shame. How many years is he getting?”

“Mrs. Peterson said that the assault and the knife concealment is a three to six-year sentence. God Ben, a guy carrying a knife and getting into fights, was watching our,” she paused to sniff and blow her nose, “baby!”

“May babe, it's ok. Look, we’ll gently ask Peter if anything funny happened and go from there. Everything will be fine.” Ben hugged May as she wept. Ben heard Peter’s steps and cleared his throat.

“Peter, welcome home, son. We have something to talk to you about; it’s about Skip, your former sitter.”

Peter wanted to run from this conversation, but he was glued to the spot. 

“Pete? When Skip minded you, did he ever do or say anything odd?”

Peter wanted to cry; he wanted to leap forward and bury his face into May's arms and confess everything Skip did to Peter. But he couldn't. 

Saying it, telling it to others would make it too real. If Peter kept it to himself, then he could make it go away. He could continue putting Skip in a box and burying him deep inside of himself. 

Peter shook his head. “No, Uncle, Skip just mainly sat with me as I watched TV.”

May and Ben’s faces shifted into complete relief.

“Well, ok, son, then we should tell you. Skip did something awful after he left here Friday night. He went to a bar and got into a nasty fight with some other men and pulled out a knife to a police officer. Skip is going to prison for the next several years. It's doubtful you'll ever see him again.”

Peter wanted to celebrate. He wanted to scream and shout in glee instead, he nodded and said, “That's real crummy news about Skip, but I understand. Thanks for telling me. I've got homework to do now.”

Peter scampered to his room and quickly closed his door. With his back to the door, he slid down. It was like a huge weight had been lifted, and everything could be right now, normal now. 

Years went by. The ugly couch where Peter was hurt weekly, was thrown away and replaced. New memories replaced the bad ones, and Peter felt the wounds from Skip were buried deep enough to be forgotten. 

It was a chilly April. Peter was walking with arms full of lab equipment from his science project. He struggled with the heavy load, but he was quickly nearing the Parker’s apartment. He tripped on some uneven pavement and almost lost everything in his arms to the sidewalk when he felt hands steady him preventing his crash. 

“Thank you so--” words were lost on Peter’s tongue, eyes narrowed, and losing all color and warmth.

“Petey, you're still so cute!” a manic voice rang out.

Peter stared in horror as the man he thought he would never see again hovered inches away from his face. 

Peter couldn't move, he was frozen in horror as Skip began to move. 

“Petey, it's been _so long_. I missed you, my baby boy. I was so lonely and cold without my favorite little guy with me.”

Skip looked rougher than he had before. Jail clearly wasn't kind to him. He looked sicker, lankier, hunched over like he was jailed somewhere too small for him. He was still blonde, he still smiled too wide, but the charismatic teen that once was there was far gone.

“Petey? Petey? It's ok baby boy, I know it's a little stunning to see me after this long. I know you must've missed me terribly; how could you not?”

Skip leaned over Peter predatory and animalistically. “Does your wet cunt miss my cock, Petey?” 

Peter sniffled, and tears welled into the corners of his eyes.

Skip stood back up, looking around him. “Well, I best be going, but Petey, I'll be seeing you _real soon.”_

Skip turned heel and was suddenly gone from view. Peter was sweating bullets; he felt like he was in the middle of a broiling oven. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak, he couldn't see. Peter ducked in an alleyway to sit and try to breathe. He couldn't do this again; he couldn't live again with Skip doing that to him again. Peter got to his feet, left his project in the alleyway, and ran to the apartment. 

He burst the door open, scaring Ben into alertness. Upon seeing Ben, Peter truly burst into tears. 

“Ben? I need to tell you something. Something bad. Something I’ve wished I told you sooner.” 

Ben nodded and patted the seat next to him for Peter to sit. Peter sat and cried and confessed everything to Ben. As Peter confessed, Ben silently listened, not once interrupting or stopping Peter. He became a silent listener to Peter's confession, offering zero judgments. When Peter finished with how Skip found him earlier, Peter was overcome with grief. He started shaking and rocked back and forth, feeling like the world was closing in. Then Ben’s hand was on his back, and the black edges receded from his vision. 

Peter looked up, and Ben, with a raspy shaky voice said, “It’s not your fault. None of this is your fault. May and I are here for you, and we always will be. We love you, and together we will get through this.” Ben reached out and hugged Peter, holding his weeping face into his chest. “I love you, Peter. Don't you forget that.”

May came home, and Peter, with the help of Ben, confessed everything he had told Ben. May much like Ben listened silently but began weeping almost immediately. After Peter finished, May consumed him in a hug pleading over and over “I'm so sorry baby I'm so sorry please forgive me please please please forgive me.” Peter cried into her arms, telling her there was nothing to forgive. 

The next day Peter, Ben, and May arrived at the local precinct. Peter spoke to a special victim police officer, and once again, Peter told his story for the third time in twenty-four hours. Fewer tears this time but still upsetting all the same. The rest was a blur of activity. Signing things, interviews, an arrest and search warrant was issued for Skip Westcott. 

Peter thought the worst was over until he was called in to identify some evidence.

Skip had taken pictures. 

_Skip had taken pictures_. Skip did occasionally force Peter to pose and to close his eyes, but Peter never imagined he was being filmed by the monster. Peter was stunned while the policewoman showed him pictures for verification. His own rape in photos. Peter didn't know how to feel; he felt everything was scooped out of him and violated again and again. Evidence of his rape would always exist in a tangible way for all of existence. Peter was barely holding on, but that was quickly turned when weeks after telling Ben and May about Skip, Ben went out for groceries and never came back. 

Peter’s world shifted when the police officer informed May and him of the robbery, of how Ben shielded a child from the bullet and how Ben was a hero. Peter didn't hear anything after he was told of Ben’s death. It was like being underwater. There were noises like speech but nothing he could make out. He just looked back and forth between a weeping May and an apologetic police officer. 

And then both looked at him with panic in their eyes. He thinks May was yelling his name, but it all slipped to black.

Peter awoke groggy and bleary-eyed in a sterile hospital room. May was next to him, red-eyed and looking at him with great concern. He couldn't speak. Peter laid there. He laid there silently even when it was explained to May next to him. Things were thrown around. He seemed to not understand in his current state. Stuff like “catatonic, nervous breakdown, personal crisis, and thirty-day evaluation.”

Peter spent thirty days in a juvenile ward in a mental hospital. May often visited, despite her grief, she knew she had to be there for Peter. Halfway into the evaluation, May visited in a more cheerful mood then she had been in for over a month. She sat by Peter in the visitation room and brought out a small bottle of champagne and two plastic cups. 

“It's nonalcoholic, but we should still celebrate the good news, Peter. Skip was sentenced to a long time, and in fourteen years, when that slimy creep gets a parole hearing, I'll be there with bells on ready to tell them what that son of a bitch did. That bastard will be seeing me at every parole hearing even if I'm rolled in as an old lady. I promise you that Peter.” Her eyes were aflame. She spoke with such determination that Peter felt that May could bully God into submission.

May brought Peter home in early July, and he hasn't left since. The first time Peter tried to leave the apartment, he had a full-blown panic attack right there in the front door frame. The second time he blacked out trying to walk down the stairs. After that, May decided to keep Peter home, to call a therapist for an official diagnosis, and to get Peter into online schooling. Peter was now confined in his own self made prison. 

The front door rattled, bringing Peter out of his memories. He got up from his computer and greeted May home from work. “Hey, May, how was your shift?

“Oh, honey, it was a long one tonight.” She plopped down on the couch and stretched. 

“Peter, you look like you got as much sleep as I did. Did you sleep last night, honey?”

Peter nervously fidgeted, “I get better tech support rates if I do nights, May. And I can’t sleep too well at night.”

“Ugh honey, it's the summer you're fifteen almost sixteen next month. I want you to enjoy the summer, not working nights like a sad forty-year-old.”

“May don't say that about yourself. And I just can't sleep.” Peter shrugged. 

“I know, honey, we need to get you a new therapist. Someone nothing like that fucking Dr. Schmuck.”

“Dr. Chuck was ok he-”

“Peter! He prescribed you benzos! You were numb and dumb for weeks, and how many times after your sessions did you come out weeping. I heard that asshole during one of your sessions. Fucking prick victim-blaming a child! That callous asshole was wrong. I wished he wasn't online. I'd kick his ass across the country.”

“Yes, May. We'll find a better therapist.” Peter submitted.

“Good hon I'm going to bed, you too mister, it’s summer, it’s fine for a teen boy to sleep till three.” May kissed his forehead as she headed to her bedroom.

“Oh, and hon, there’s a package for you. It arrived right when I was coming up. Sleep tight, sweetie.”

Peter looked over to a package by the front door. Sure enough, it had his name on it and an Amazon logo. He began to open the box and its contents, finding a brand new 1080p webcam. “Wow, May thanks s-” a snore could be heard from May’s room. “Oops, sorry,” Peter whispered apologetically to the apartment.

Peter excitedly moved to his room and started texting Ned over the unexpected gift from May. 

Ned’s text read, “Dude, stop talking! Set it up and let's see. I'll meet you on Skype in five.”

Peter booted his older laptop and started Skype to find Ned already there.

Ned’s voice came through, “Dude come on, set it up. I want to see how clear the image is.”

“Hold on! It’s almost ah - done.”

“Peter, man, the picture is crystal clear. I can see, like, how messy your room is.”

“Really, you can see my room?” Peter sat at the desk, looking into the camera. 

“Dude, it's so hi-def I can see your “The Flash” bed sheets.”

“I like The Flash! And you can see that? What else?”

“Just about everything in your room is coming in clear. At least now you can get those online tutor gigs. Why did May buy this anyway?”

“I guess she saw it on my wishlist and decided on an early birthday gift.”

“It's over a month away though.”

“I don't know; I guess I’ll ask later. But isn't this so cool?” Peter smiled at his friend.

“Kidding me, man, it's so cool. I could watch your every movement now, clear as day.”

  
  
  


  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Livvibee was so kind to edit. Livvibee, Skippyjo94, talc, and TheonlyceeceeJ, and Nelalila helped me soooooo much with this fic and it really wouldn't exist without them.


	3. If Prince Charming was a felon (Tony)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> General Warnings - cringe af fantasy, masturbation, past reference to abuse, and past reference sexual abuse.

Tony smiled dreamily at the photo in the early hours before the morning wake up alarm sounded. He barely even drank last night to sleep. His newly gained picture encaptured him. The photo was a gorgeous young man laughing in a blue sweater. His eyes were closed, hiding what Tony expected to be beautiful eyes. The smile was wide and showed perfect white teeth. He had a coiffed side-swept golden brown hair that Tony expected to be softer than any  Cashmere he’d ever bought. There was handwriting on the back with “Peter Parker” scribbled. Peter, the name was music to his ears. Tony wanted to pet and hold the kid more than anything on Earth.

The wake-up siren rang throughout the cell unit. Tony reluctantly pulled away from the beautiful photograph making his way through his cell, getting dressed and taken care of, and ensuring the photo was carefully protected in his left side pocket. 

Tony made plans last night on what he had to do, and the first step was speaking to his supplier of all black market items. Tony made his way from his cell to the prison’s cafeteria. Not particularly wanting today’s lukewarm, mushy, tasteless oatmeal, he quickly looked around to find the man he was looking for. He saw Weasel leaving the food line walking towards an empty table. Tony sped up and walked in step with the other man. Weasel was an average-sized, bespeckled man with stringy, dirty blonde hair. He spoke in an obnoxiously nasally voice. When Tony caught up to Weasel, Tony harshly whispered, “Weasel, I need to talk to you.”

“Ugh, man, don’t call me that,” he said with an annoyed groan.

Tony paused and looked at Weasel. “Wade calls you that.”

“Yeah, Wade gets to because he’s a fucking psychopath, and if I ever complained, he’ll cut my hand off and use my nub to jerk him off. I’m not telling Wilson what to do,  _ ever _ .”

“Fair enough.”

Tony sat in front of Weasel at the empty table while Weasel ate this breakfast. 

“What do you need, Stark? It’s a little soon for a top off.” 

Tony thought for a minute about ordering more alcohol, but no, now he needed to focus on Peter. “Look, I need a” Tony side-eyed the guard walking close to them. “A thing from you.”

“A thing, what kind of  _ thing _ Stark?”

“A uh, you know,” Tony began motioning his hand, attempting to make a texting motion to Weasel. 

“No, I don’t know Stark what the fuck are you trying to do?”

“Ugh, I  _ need  _ a thing,” exasperated Tony cupped his hand and motioned it to his ear while watching the guard gradually walking away from their table.

“Oh yeah,” drawing the word out. I see what you  _ need _ . But sorry, no, I don’t do handjobs. Unless you were saying, you need to give one?” Weasel dugged into his mushy food while Tony looked incredulously at him. 

“Incredible. No, you idiot, I mean a  _ cellphone _ !” Tony harshly whispered.

“Oh, a  _ Cell Phone _ ! Well, fuck man, why didn’t you say so?”

“Because there was a fucking guard right there, and I didn’t think openly buying illegal contraband was a good idea.”

“That’s pretty smart, Stark.”

Tony could feel a headache coming on. If this weren’t the only contraband seller on this side of the jail, Tony would’ve left the annoying man to his repugnant gruel, but Tony was desperate and continued talking, gritting his teeth.

“I’m not “pretty smart” I’m a genius. I graduated from MIT at fifteen Weasel.”

“I dropped out of 7th grade because my teacher wouldn’t let me smoke in class. And yet LOOK, we’re both here at the same time!” Weasel stood up raising his arms up to the whole cafeteria. “Look! We’re all here like one big happy fucked up family!” and with hands brought together “Together!”

At the man’s outburst, serval inmates threw food at Weasel, yelling, “Shut the fuck up, Weasel!”

Weasel dodged the thrown food and noticed he had avoided being hit. He proudly announced to the cafeteria, “You missed me! Congrats on nothing, you fucking gremlins!”

Tony cursed under his voice, rubbing his head. He couldn’t believe  _ this  _ is who he was now relying on to contact Peter. “Weasel shut the fuck up and sit down; I’m trying to buy shit from you!” Tony reached and pulled the man by his front shirt uniform back down into sitting at the table.

“Relax Stark; I’ll get your shit. Okay, so just a smartphone? What do you need it for? Also, I thought your company made cell phones just get one from your factory.”

Tony felt a stab of pain at the mention of his former company. “Can you get it for me or not?” Tony snapped.

“Fine, I’ll get it to you today. There’s the rich douchebag tax, which doubles the price, so it’ll be two grand.”

Tony nodded, pleased to have finally reached at least one goal for today.

“Yeah, that’s fine I’ll wire the money today.”

Weasel looked at Tony incredulously. “It's nothing to you, isn’t it? The money?. You don’t know anything about what things are worth, do you?” Weasel picked up a banana from his tray. “Stark, how much for this banana?”

“I mean, it’s one banana, how much could a single banana cost? Ten dollars?”

“Wow,” Weasel drew the word out. “You really were born with a silver spoon Stark.”

“More like the whole Germain Soup Tureen set.” Tony got up from the table.

“Huh?”

“Nothing, I’ll wire your money now. When can I expect the goods?”

“Give me like three hours. I’ll place it in the usual spot in your cell, Mr. One-percent.”

Tony walked away from the cafeteria, heading towards the phone banks. He placed a call to his “handler” for all his needs.

“Hello, Mr. Stark, how can I help you today?”

“Happy, I need you to wire two thousand instead of the usual amount today to the confrimed PayPal account. And I need something else too. I need, and this needs a level of discretion, a full background check on a person. I’ll contact you later with a name and photo. I want the full monty on him, no detail too small, no stone left unturned, and I need it sooner than later.”

“Right away, Mr. Stark, I’ll take care of it now.”

“Happy does- is Pepper, is she alright?” Tony felt pathetic every time he attempted to hear about Pepper’s life.

Happy audibly signed into the receiver. He sounded like he was shoveling papers around. “Mr. Stark you know I have my orders, and I really can’t talk about Ms.-”

“It’s fine, Happy, just wire the money.” Tony suddenly snarled. He hung up the phone rougher than needed, laid his head against the cool wall, and sighed. 

Tony strolled through the prison, killing time before he could go back to his cell. After pacing the jail a few rounds, he headed back to his solitary cell. Tony entered his cell, taking note of any lingering guards that could be watching. He climbed his bolted desk and reached over his long, light fixture feeling for the contraband. His fingers grazed the hard casing and peeled the tape, holding the phone secured. 

“Yay.” Tony gleefully brought the contraband down, turning the phone over in his hands. It was luckily one of his brands, and he knew the odds and ends of it entirely. Tony booted it and began his search. He created some fake accounts and opened the best information/stalking site in existence- Facebook, where everyone posts every second of their lives without care or fear of being watched. 

Tony searched the name “Peter Parker” and looked for a New York city tagged location. He found him immediately. Peter Parker, fifteen going on sixteen of Queens New York. He had a non-private account and all the photos Tony could drool over. Tony looked through his posts and pictures, saving every photo of the cute teen. After he found a good photo of the teen facing forward, he sent the picture and available information to Happy. Tony went back on his information hunt.

“Huh, That’s odd.” All the photos in the last year looked to be in the same apartment. And only with two other people, Tony noticed. One was tagged “May Parker” her profile listed her as his Aunt. “Wow, sweetheart lives with Aunt Hottie.” 

The other person often in all of Peter’s pictures was a Filipino chubby boy whose tag listed him as “Ned Leeds.” On Ned’s profile, there is a recent video of Peter and this Ned building a lego set. In the video, Peter laughed ranged out in the video at Ned’s imitation of a star war character. The laugh was music to Tony’s ears. Tony felt a pang of jealousy over how much time it appears Peter and this  _ boy  _ spent together. Tony clicked Ned’s profile and found a girlfriend listed as relationship status. Tony was relieved that it seemed Peter, based on his profile, was adorably cute, camera-shy, and lastly was only close to two people. 

“Good. I don’t like the idea of sharing him.” Tony was secretly happy that it appeared Peter was a shy, introverted boy. It made it easier not to feel jealous of Peter being out in the world while Tony was tucked away behind steel and locks. Tony began more searches about the boy. With several Google searches, he found his Amazon wishlist, Peter’s name along with Ned’s attached to several science clubs, and an account for a freelance tech support site that the boy posted rates and available times for contact. Tony whistled, looking over the multiple science clubs and the scholarship status at the Midtown Science Academy. 

“Looks like we have a little genius here. I knew you were gorgeous Parker, but smart to boot? “ He was just perfect for Tony. After several hours of information searching and picture saving, the cell battery became low. Tony flipped through his saved photos one last time and got up to plug the phone in an outlet obscured by his locker. 

Tony laid back on his cot, saddened to lose the only connection to his boy for the time being. He took his physical picture of Peter and gazed at it for a few minutes. Then he carefully placed the photo beside him and started cupping his front and closed his eyes. 

  
  


_ It was a humid night in central park. Tony casually walked around, enjoying the solitude and fresh air after being in prison for so long. He was about to make his way back to the path that leads home when he heard a scuffle, and a punch thudded out into the night’s air. Tony hurriedly ran towards the source. Tony walked forward to the scene before him. Some street toughs had corned a young man and appeared to be trying to mug the teen.  _

_ “Please, I need this money for all my school books and equipment...” The teen victim pleaded with his wallet held out to the larger men. One began to reach out to take the wallet. _

_ “I don’t think so.” Tony stepped forward with his back straight. The boy looked at Tony as a savior with big beautiful brown doe eyes. “You leave the kid alone.” _

_ “Or what old man?” one street-tough snickered.  _

_ “Or you’ll have to deal with me.” Tony moved closer between the men and the thugs and got into a fighting stance. _

_ The larger men took a step back, and one motioned to the others, “Let's not deal with this guy,” and began to walk away. One man suddenly grabbed the teen’s wallet and bolted away with the others in tow. _

_ “Hey!” The teen cried out, “No, that has my subway card and all my money for books.” The boy began to weep into his hands. “How am I going to get home now? And get my school things?” _

_ Tony’s gentle hand touched the boy’s shoulder, coaxing him to look up as Tony handed him a handkerchief. Peter took the finely made cloth and wiped his face.“Thank you so much, Mister?” _

_ “Stark. Tony Stark.” _

_ “Thank you, Mr. Stark, for helping me. I’m Peter Parker.” The boy gave Tony a dazzling smile that made his heart skip a beat.  _

_ “Well, I guess I’ll be on my way. I’ll go call my aunt; maybe she can pick me up,” Peter sniffled while handing the handkerchief back. _

_ “Or I can give you a ride? I’ll call my driver.” _

_ “No, you’ve done too much for me, saving me like that. Who knows what would’ve happened to me if you didn’t save me. I was at those awful men’s mercy,” Peter tearfully moaned. _

_ “Hey, but I was here, and I am here to help you.” Tony whipped the boy close and held him. “You’ve experienced a shock, and I’m going to call my driver and happily replace the money stolen and buy your books and whatever else you need.” Tony reached out a hand, wiping a tear from the boy’s face.  _

_ “You’ll do that? For me?” _

_ “With that face, how can anyone refuse to give you the moon kid?” _

_ The boy gazed intensely up at the taller man. He licked his bottom lip. “Well, Mr. Stark, I can’t possibly allow you to do all that without some kind of repayment.” _

_ “We can discuss payment in my car, shall we?” Tony held his arm up for Peter to hold while walking towards the car. _

_ “You’re such a gentleman, Mr. Stark, I hope, well-” Peter cut himself off. _

_ “Yes, Peter? What are you worried about?” _

_ “Well Mr. Stark, it’s just- it’s- I don’t have a lot of experience in this, and I hope you’ll be gentle for my first time and-“ _

Tony came with a groan, his cock spurting semen over his fist and onto his uniform front.

Panting, Tony entirely left his fantasy and looked up at the ugly grey cell ceiling. He realized one thing suddenly, “I need to get the fuck out of here.”

  
  


The next morning Tony was pacing up and down the hall outside of Dr. Charles Xaivier’s office, the prison’s head administrator. Tony stopped pacing when he noticed Charles walking up, greeting Tony.

“Tony! It’s so nice to see you, please let me settle, and we can talk.”

Charles unlocked the door to his office, turning the light on and motioning to Tony to sit at the chair. In front of Tony was a large desk over-encumbered with paperwork. 

Charles took a seat and grinned softly at Tony “What can I do for you, my friend?” 

“I need out, Xavier.”

“Out? Out of your unit?”

“No, out of this prison. Freedom. I’ve been here for two and a half years. I've been penalized enough, and I want to leave.”

Charles brows knitted together and started typing at his computer. “Tony, it says that your sentence was three to five years. You still have at least six months before being even considered for an early release. I can’t do anything, my friend.”

“That’s bullshit, Charles.”

Charles signed “look Tony I can't give preferential treatment just because we knew-”

“How long have you known me, Charles?.”

Charles signed again “At least 20 years and-”

“And  _ who _ did  _ you  _ call when your current fiancee was arrested and almost deported back to Germany?”

“Look, Tony-”

“And when Raven was in trouble who did you call then too?”

“Tony-”

“No,  _ you own me _ . And I’m calling in my favor. I know what you do here. You make sentence recommendations. I’m not suggesting anything, _ I am telling you I want out _ .”

Charles started to rub his hands on his face with an annoyed groan. 

“Tony,  _ this _ can't look too obvious. I need you to do something, and I may be able to work some things.”

“What  _ things?”  _ Tony was becoming angrier after all these years and favors. He had to jump hoops to still get what he wanted.

“For the most part, you are an exemplary inmate. You don’t start fights, you attend your AA meetings without fail, you do have these odd little fights with Wilson, but those all appear verbal. However, it is in your record that you have been caught obviously drunk multiple times. And Hank’s reports show you’re very not forthcoming in the meetings. If you showed more of a recovery in your meetings, then I can talk to Hank. He’ll write a sentence recommendation, and I’ll erase your past behavior. But for this to all work, you need actually to work at the AA meetings. And do not get caught again with alcohol nor drunk.”

“Done.”

“Just that simple? Tony, only you are the one that decides how long you walk in Hell.”

“Oh funny, here I thought New York corrections decided how long I would be here.”

Charles shook his head. “No Tony, it means that even if you left today, you would still be on this destructive path ahead of you. You have always been self-destructive, and I honestly hoped after your arrest that would change, but I see you haven’t. Tony, you can’t be born again, but you can  _ always change _ . I don’t want to do this, only for you to drink yourself to death or kill someone with your drinking by next year,” Charles pleaded.

“I don’t have a drinking problem. I drank a little too much, and some people overreacted.  _ I'm fine _ !” Tony said bitterly.

“Tony, you've had a drinking problem longer than I've known you. I know about your father, and I've heard rumors about Obadiah Stane and-”

Tony stood so fast from his seat that it fell over. “Just because you shacked up with some poor civil rights martyr doesn’t mean you are an omnipotent saint, Charles, and you don't know shit about me.”

Charles looked directly into Tony’s eyes. “I know you think you deserve this pain, but you don't.”

Tony scrunched up his face in anger and furiously bit out, “just get your side done, and I’ll do my end, Charles.” Tony turned around making a quick run from the office without another look at one of his oldest friends. 

Tony walked the prison in a rage. How dare Charles! Bringing up his father and that other asshole. Just fucking wait, once he got out and met Peter, all would be good. It’ll be great! It's what his life was missing: a cute, smart boy that he could hold and pet and buy anything for, he’ll get his drinking in check after meeting Peter, he’ll get his company back in order, and his friends and Peter can be his family. In fact, after seeing Peter, Tony bet he’ll never drink again because how could he? He’ll never want that sweet shy boy to see him drunk. Tony came to a halt. Yes, after getting out, he’ll stop, but for now? A little bit won’t hurt. He moved towards the hall that would lead back to his cell and his alcoholic contraband. 

As Tony made his way back, an inmate stopped him. “Hey Stark, the mail cart’s out in the communal area. I saw a package for you.” 

_ Oh, good. _ Happy was fast when put to work.

“Thanks, Lang I'll head that way.” Tony was going to get his boy’s background file and sit and read and drink and get to know about  _ the _ Peter Parker. After all, he needed to be prepared to meet the boy.

Tony walked to the communal area where the mail cart was. He was giddy to read all about his boy. Tony signed for the package and happily opened the contents and moved towards an empty table. He opened the extensive booklet, and read “ **Peter Benjamin Parker born August 10th** .” Tony committed to remembering the date; suddenly, the calendar had meaning now that he had birthdays and holidays to remember and to give gifts for. The first page had all the expected details - height, weight, home address, guardian names all from his last doctor’s visit. Tony hummed happily seeing Aunt Hottie was, in fact, Peter’s guardian. Tony winched when he read the household income of the Parker home. Tony may be a tad out of touch, but he still had an idea what near poverty level looked like. Tony turned the page to a photocopy of Peter’s birth certificate and social security card. Turning again, Tony became confused. It was a police report. Tony’s brow knitted together as he read. 

“ **Causiacan Boy (age 3) found abandoned by parents in a soon to be evicted apartment. Evidence showed the child was malnourished and neglected. Upon interviewing the child, it was believed he had been abandoned over a week earlier and had resulted in eating dry pasta and condiments in the dilapidated home.”**

Tony felt his heart race as he continued. 

**“Peter Parker was placed in foster care until his closest living relative - Benjamin Parker and wife May Parker- was contacted and released into their care. A warrant was issued for Richard and Mary Parker for the abuse and neglect of their only son Peter. Their bodies were discovered in a motel room deceased from a heroin overdose forty-eight hours after Peter was discovered.”**

Tony sat up and paused. Peter was abused and neglected? His boy was hurt. Tony was becoming upset. He was considering having a drink and then reading later when the page flipped to  _ another _ police report. Tony looked and read on. 

**“May 14th Peter Parker along his guardians May Parker and Benjamin Parker made a sexual assault statement to the special victims unit.”**

“Oh, fuck. No...” 

**“** **Peter Parker from seven years old was molested by Skip Westcott, a babysitter the Parker’s employed weekly. The sexual abuse progressed further when Parker was eight. From eight to eleven, Peter was sexually abused anally and orally weekly. Photo documentation discovers in Skip’s home * see evidence list A2385.”**

Tony flipped the page to see an inventory list and description of evidence seized against Skip. The list was long. Tony read “ **Evidence 1A Photo of Victim Peter Parker (identified ) lying facedown on couch naked with what appears to be semen** -” Tony slammed the book down. He was wrathful. He was furious. How dare that ugly piece of shit touch a child? No less, his boy? He was gripping the booklet. Thinking about what he needed to do, how to ripe Skip apart with every, a voice rang out into his hearing.

“Oh,  _ hello there, _ Stark!” Wade came into Tony’s view. “You know I’ve been thinking of our little pow-wow from AA. And have just been spending all my time in the library looking up all the synonyms for your name.” Wade sat in front of Tony and pulled a slip of paper out of his front shirt pocket, apparently oblivious to the murder in Tony’s eyes. 

“Eh hem. Synonyms for Tony Stark - Screw up, trust fund baby, drunk, a disappointment to the great long history of the Stark name, my personal favorite orphan and-”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP WADE!” Tony bellowed, snatching his booklet and running out of the room towards his cell. 

Wade, stunned by the sudden event, blinked, said aloud, “Too far?”

Tony burst into his cell, threw the booklet down, snatched his alcohol from his hiding spot, and drank all the contents down in one gesture. Setting the container down, Tony became wobbly and tripped onto his cot. Tony started pulling at his pockets, looking for Peter’s picture. Looking at the smiling boy, Tony made a promise that he’d make Peter’s life better than this Dickensian tragedy that was the boy’s life. Tony succumbed to his blackout with a determination that when he woke up, he'd read Peter’s history from cover to cover and make plans to ensure his life was better. Even with Tony in prison, he would help the boy.

Tony awoke dazed and hungover, but upon remembering his plan of action, he quickly got to his feet to retrieve the booklet. He sat at his bolted desk with a notebook and began reading and making notes. Hours later, Tony felt somber and desolate. Peter’s life read like a tragedy. Abused by shitty parents, adopted by an uncle and aunt in just above the poverty level, raped by a fucking sicko. Tony gritted his teeth when he thought of the long list of child pornography Skip had taken of Peter. Then, after all that bullshit, his uncle fucking gets murdered. Tony held his arms out in exasperation. Nervous breakdown later resulted in an agoraphobia diagnosis from Dr. Chuck. Tony remembered noticing Peter’s pictures all being in his apartment of only seeing one friend and the Aunt in all his photos. The agoraphobia made sense now. 

Tony sat and thought. Tony  _ needed _ to protect Peter. Suppose he didn’t step in soon, who knows what could happen to Peter if he didn’t do something. Peter is so delicate and sensitive a spider bite could kill the boy. Tony had a sudden idea: he pulled his phone out and searched Peter’s wishlist until he found what he was looking for - a web camera. Of course, the one on the wishlist just won’t do. Tony searched for one worthy of his boy. Tony finally found a 1080p webcam from Stark Industries that would help his plan to watch over the teen. 

After placing the order, he made a phone call to Happy. “Happy, it’s Stark.”

A yawn and then a sleepy voice. “Tony, it’s 2 AM, how are you calling me?” 

“It's an emergency. I need you to do something. Get a pen and paper out and start writing.”

“Stark you’re talking like-”

“Like what?” Tony snapped.

“Like you used to like back when you were running the company like a well-oiled machine. Did something happen?”

“Only the best decision in my life. Now you have that pen and paper.”

“Yes, sir Mr. Stark.”

“Good, because I’m not repeating myself. I want a grant sent to the address I’m going to text you. I want it expressly for the security and the placement of CCTV all over the building. I want extra cameras placed on the 4th floor, and I want zero blind spots. Next, I want the newest Stark tablet. I'll give you exact details of what I want you to do with it tomorrow."

“O- okay. Anything else, Mr. Stark?”

“For now, that’s it, but expect further instructions soon.”

“Yes, Mr. Stark.”

Tony was about to close the call when he spoke again, “And Happy?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark?”

“This stays between us?”

“Yes, sir, of course, sir.”

Tony hung up the call, texting Happy Peter’s apartment address. It was only the first step towards his goals, but Tony smiled down at his notes on Peter. “I’m going to watch over you kid and I”ll be in your life forever. Your tragic life ends today.” Tony opened a new page and began writing his plans on protecting Peter. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Livvibee was so kind to edit. Livvibee, Skippyjo94, talc, TheonlyceeceeJ, and Nelalila helped me soooooo much with this fic and it really wouldn't exist without them.
> 
> I wrote over 12.4k words this week. So expect ch 4 and 5 soon.


	4. Pain is weakness leaving the body and other lies (Peter)

Peter pouted at his computer screen. In the last 3 hours, Peter had made $9.75 nowhere close to what he needed. Peter’s school list had arrived the day before, and Peter noticed May’s distress at the required equipment. Mr.Allen required all students to have a $150 graphing calculator, the robotics club that Peter participated with the help of Ned’s laptop, and an HDMI hook up to a larger screen had a twice-yearly due of $200. May and Peter received a notice earlier today that the rent will be going up next month. May hid her worry well as she closed the note, but Peter saw through her joking, “Well, Peter, I guess we need to cut back on those European vacations this year.” Her nervous chuckled cut through Peter. He knew even with Ben’s paycheque, they were making things _just_ work, but since Ben’s death, there were cutbacks. They didn’t eat out anymore, May worked over five twelve-hour shifts days now, and despite May’s reluctance to accept the little money Peter made during tech support, Peter knew it helped. 

Peter signed in boredom but straightened up when he heard the computer “Bing.”

Peter had set an alarm if someone chooses the instant help request he would be alerted immediately. Peter looked at the emergency request. 

**AskJarvis46: I can’t open this link. - $100 request**

Peter’s eyes lit up when he saw the money amount. The guy paid triple the instant help rate for this. Peter clinked the link provided and - nothing. Peter brows knitted in confusion and began typing. 

**Parker’sTechHelp: I’m sorry, but the link provided doesn’t appear fixable, would you like a refund?**

Peter bit his lip. The money would really help. He admonished himself for thinking life could be so giving suddenly. 

**AskJarvis46: No, keep the money you’ve been** **very** **helpful.**

Peter couldn’t believe his luck. $100 in one go was what he’d make in several sleepless nights. A message popped up on the corner of his screen.

**TheGuyintheChair: How’s tech support going? Any old ladies trying to print a gif again? Making lots of moolah?**

**Parker’sLuck01: Well, I really crunched the numbers, and I can live comfortably for the rest of my life if I die tomorrow at noon. I did just get a really strange this guy just sent an instant request with triple rates to click a broken link.**

**TheGuyintheChair: Wow, talk about lucky, at least you’re a lot closer to this year’s school supplies list. And the smallest cost of a funeral is like $1200, so really you can’t afford to die either. LoL**

Peter signed when he thought about all the bills on top of the school supplies. He felt a pang of overwhelming panic over affording everything.

**Parker’sLuck01: Yeah, it helps, but things are really tight right now. We got a notice this morning for the rent being raised. So maybe I can buy a broken graphing calculator and fix it?**

**TheGuyintheChair: Maybe, I’ll look on eBay for something that can be fixable and send the link over.**

**Parker’sLuck01: Thanks, Ned, you’re the best.**

**TheGuyintheChair: No problem.** **I am the** **guy in the chair gotta give all the support I can.**

Peter smiled at the messages, despite everything Ned was always there to support Peter. Peter began typing another message when he heard a series of bings. He looked over, and suddenly Peter had over five instant tech support requests. Peter’s eyes widen at the amount listed for each request - $100 each. Someone was paying triple rates by choice. Peter hurriedly clicked the oldest request first.

**AskJarvis46: What program do I need to use to make a word document?**

Peter was confused but began typing.

**Parker’sTechHelp: The program needed for word document is word document. It’s a standard feature on any computer. Does that resolve your request?**

**AskJarvis46: Yes, it does thank you.** Peter looked at his phone, seeing the approved money transfer for the odd request.

Peter opened the next request.

**AskJarvis46: I washed my keyboard, and now it’s not working. How to fix this?**

Peter’s confusion grew tenfold.

**Parker’sTechHelp: I’m sorry, but there’s nothing that can fix a keyboard after exposing it to a lot of water. Does this resolve your request?**

Peter leaned back in his chair. Was someone’s addled grandpa sending these requests? Was it morally right to accept money from someone mentally impaired?

Peter opened the next $100 request, brows knitting in both confusion and concern.

**AskJarvis46: How do I stop the government from reading my emails?**

**Parker’sTechHelp: The government is not reading your emails. And if they are, I don’t believe there’s anything to do about it. I’m sorry, sir or ma'am, but are you ok? You’ve sent me several high rate requests, and I’m concerned over this being intentional and if you are of sound mind.**

Peter knew this might lead to the loss of all the instant request money, but he couldn’t take advantage of a sickly person. A bing alerted him.

 **AskJarvis46: I’m fine. I just have so many tech support questions, and I need them answered** **now.**

**Please answer my requests quicker. It's imperative that I have these resolved immediately. And I enclosed a $100 in this message, so you know how important I need this.**

“I guess that solves my concerns.” Peter began clicking the rest of AskJarvis46 requests. “Wow,” Peter drew the word out after reading the questions.

**AskJarvis46: I dropped my phone in the toilet, should I dry it in the microwave or the oven?**

**AskJarvis46: I can’t find the “any key”?**

**AskJarvis46: How do I change my desktop picture?**

Peter answered the questions one by one, and immediately he could see the money transferred to his account. As soon as he finished the original questions “AskJarvis46” sent four more, all with $100 attached. Peter completed the last odd question and looked over at his account. He had made $1200 just from the series of unusual requests.

When it appeared, the requests were over. Peter began messaging Ned.

**Parker’sLuck01: I just had the weirdest 30 mins**

**TheGuyintheChair: Did another gross guy ask how to unlock a girl’s phone?**

**Parker’sLuck01: No, this guy just kept sending $100s for really stupid questions.**

**TheGuyintheChair: May I be plagued by the burden of easy money. How much did you make?**

**Parker’sLuck01: Before the stupid questions - $9.75 after $1209.75**

**TheGuyintheChair: Whoa dude that’s awesome! That’s like serious money. You can afford to die now!**

**Parker’sLuck01: Real funny**

**TheGuyintheChair: :)**

Peter smiled at the screen. Tonight, although odd, was excellent. He couldn’t wait to show May the sudden windfall. The unexpected money wouldn’t fix all their money problems, but it keeps them afloat for a while. Peter rubbed his tired eyes and gazed at the clock - 3:31 AM. Peter felt so relaxed he was actually going to sleep tonight. Peter got from his desk, turning the computer off, brushed his teeth, and got into bed sleepily giddy over the sudden money. He gazed at his computer screen and smiled sleepily before succumbing.

Peter awoke to the sounds of keys jingling the front door. Peter got out of bed, oddly refreshed for once. May greeted Peter from the couch. “Peter, you look like you actually slept last night. Had a good night?”

“Yeah, May a great one actually, I have some good news for you.”

“Me too, honey. Look.” May held a large gift bag to Peter. Peter examined the contents.

“Is this a Starktablet?”

“Yep! Won it last night at work. I didn’t even know there was a raffle going on. Isn’t it nice?”

“Are you kidding? It’s the newest one! This is so cool, May!”

“What can it do?”

“It’s like the latest in AI tech. You keep it in the kitchen or living room, and it can sync up to all your tech, and it has like learning abilities too and it-”

“Maybe we should sell it,” May says gently.

Downcasted, Peter knew what’s going through May’s mind that they needed the money more. 

“Actually um May I have some really good news. I made $1200 last night.”

“You made how much!?” May leaped from the couch, “Peter, that’s- that’s a lot of money, hon.”

“I know May; that’s why we should keep the tablet.”

“Honey, I can’t take your hard-earned money.”

“No, May I want to help, and the money will help a lot, and we can sell the tablet if we need to. We can be really careful with it, and if we have to sell it as “barely used” trust me May.” Peter excitedly rambled. 

“Okay, you seem really excited about this _thing_.”

“Because it’s so cool. I’ll set it up now so you can see.”

Peter unboxed the tablet and began setting it up on the coffee table while May tiredly watched. The screen activated and a kind pleasant woman’s voice chirped on. 

“Hello. I’m Karen. I'm here to make your life easier. What may I call you?”

“Hi, Karen! I’m Peter Parker.”

Peter nudged May. “Hello, I’m May.”

“Hello, Peter, hello May. It’s nice to make your acquaintances. Do I have permission to sync to all your devices?”

“Yes, Karen, please do.” Peter was giddy; this was the coolest newest tech on the market.

“Well, that’s all the Skynet I can handle at this moment. I need to sleep for a few hours. I have to go out for a bit later. Is Ned still coming over?” 

“Yeah, May, don’t worry, we'll be really quiet as you sleep.”

“Oh honey, I know you will be, you always take care of your old decrepit aunt.”

“May, your information indicates to me that you are, in fact, not very old by human terms at all,” Karen spoke.

May pointed to the tablet, “that’s creepy. I’m going to bed. Good morning honey.” May bent down and kissed Peter on the head before heading to her bedroom. 

“Ok, Karen, I’m going to work on some things, but you’ve already synced to my laptop, right?” Peter whispered 

“Yes, Peter,” Karen whispered, “My information indicates I’m synced up to all devices including your laptop and attached web camera. Permission is limited to you and the original admin.” whispered. 

“That’s so cool.” Peter gushed over the fluidity of the AI’s speech and actions. 

Peter couldn’t believe May’s and his luck in the last twelve hours. Everything was looking up in the Parker’s household. 

Peter walked back into his room, picking up his worn, used copy of “Dune” and laid in bed reading before Ned’s arrival. 

_Later_

Ned’s soft knocking roused Peter from his midmorning nap. The series of good news had suddenly relieved Peter somewhat of his insomnia. Peter opened the door to his oldest friend, who threw a bag at him while walking in. “I got you your favorite from Delmar's. I figured we could have lunch then assemble the millennium falcon set. Did you see all the stuff going on in your building?” Peter flinched at the last question.

“Ugh, sorry, man, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, there’s a ton of cameras being installed, and the front entranced is getting a serious upgrade.” 

“Really? We didn’t get any notice of any security changes. Maybe it’s because Mrs. Rosenberg threatened to sue after her apartment was broken into last year?” Peter questioned.

“Peter? Are you going to introduce your friend?” 

“Who said that?” Ned looked around wildly for a person before landing on the tablet. “Oh my god, is that the new Starktablet? Is it the older model? I’m Ned Leeds, by the way, Peter’s best coolest friend.”

“Hello Ned, I’m Karen, my model is actually not on the market just yet. I was specially ordered for the current owners.”

Ned looked shocked at the tech. And looked at Peter. “Dude, how?”

“May won it last night at the hospital. I’m shocked too. I think there was a mixed up at the factory or something.” Peter shrugged 

“You have suddenly gotten so lucky, man.”

“It’s a welcomed change, believe me.” Peter bitterly spoke out. “Come on, let’s go assemble this in my room.”

The boys sat on Peter’s floor and assembled the model. 

“So, how has the therapist search been going?”

Peter signed “Terrible. The insurance doesn’t cover all of the costs, and there are limited options with the funds we have.”

“Which is why you had that shitty therapist before? Because he was cheap?”

“Yes, but May is adamant about getting a better one even if we have to pay more.”

“That’s rough, buddy.”

Peter hummed in agreement.

“But have you been able to leave at all lately?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“It’s just you think maybe you will be by your birthday next month? Because I got two tickets to “the Star Wars experience” opening in SoHo.”

“What? Really?!”

“Yeah, my uncle hooked us up. I figure May could drive us? It was going to be a surprise, but like my mom said to tell you now so you can like be motivated to get out.”

Peter became chest fallen. He did not believe that within a few weeks, Peter would make a full recovery enough to make it so far into the world.

Ned noticed his fallen face. 

“Look, it’s ok we can have a good birthday here too. Like we can bring the experience here, and it’ll be fun.”

“Yeah yeah, we’ll see. Maybe we can go, we'll see.” Peter was shaky.

“Boys?” May appeared in the doorway, “I’m going out for an hour or two, be good. Oh and Peter, a guy is being sent over to upgrade the thermostat tomorrow.”

“Sure thing Mrs.P I’ll be Peter’s bodyguard while you're out!”

“Thanks, Ned,” May called out as she left and locked the apartment. 

Ned leaned over and whispered, “Have you told her yet?”

“No.”

“Why not? You know May wouldn’t care, Hell, she’ll probably join PFLAG after you tell her.” 

“I know it just feels like I’m always burdening her with more and more things.”

“I won’t tell you when to come out, Peter. I’ll always be your guy in the chair, but I think you should tell her.”

“I’ll think about it.” Ned’s phone started buzzing. Ned brought it out and started reading the texts. “Ugh, sorry, man. My Mom is telling me to come back. She needs help dealing with my grandma.”

Peter winced in sympathy, “Yeah, you should run over before it’s WWII in there.”

Peter walked Ned to the door. “I’ll come over again before the semester starts, ok? Bye, Peter.” Peter smiled and waved his friend away as he closed the door and clicked the lock in place. Peter was overcome with an intense sense of dread. Everyone was helping him so much, and he couldn’t even leave his apartment. Peter stood at the door staring at the knob. He began reaching for the locks undoing them. He started sweating and panting.”I can do this. I can leave, it'll be fine.”

He started twisting the knob and felt an intense tightness in his chest. Panic was overtaking him. A taunting voice entered his mind. “So pathetic cant even take a step out of an apartment.” Peter couldn’t breathe. “Baby Peter Parker can’t do anything right. Couldn’t stop from being raped, couldn’t save Ben, just an awful burden on your aunt.”

Peter fell to his knees, panting; tears flowed, he couldn’t stop shaking. “You shouldn’t be around anymore if you’re this useless.” Peter was rocking on the floor, crying and hyperventilating. He could distantly hear a voice trying to talk to him when he felt someone grabbing his shoulders. 

“Peter!? Peter, it’s ok, I got you.” He felt May holding him petting his hair. “I’m sorry, I’m here shush shush shush get the awful out its okay cry if you need to” Peter’s breathing evened out. He hiccuped and tearfully spoke, “I’m sorry May for all the trouble I am.”

Peter began weeping more. “Peter, honey, you’re no trouble at all. This is what people do for family.” May continued petting his head, letting Peter sob into her shoulder. “And hey, you were right about the creepy tablet. I think it knew there was something wrong with you, and the Hall 9000 texted me saying I was needed.”

“She did?” Peter’s breathing was regular now, and his crying was slowing down. 

“You truly know your tech, honey. Let’s get you to bed for a bit. When you wake up, we can have a nice dinner. I have more good news for you.” Peter felt dead to his feet, suddenly exhausted. Peter let May lead him to his bedroom and move his duvet off.

As Peter laid his head on his pillow, May petted his hair. “Peter, we need to get you a new therapist this week. I don’t care about the costs. I’ll gladly work seven days a week if it means you get better.”

“Yes, May. I’ll look into it” Peter spoke drowsily and fell asleep to May’s gentle touch.

Peter awoke to it now being night. He sleepily rubbed his eyes. Panic attacks exhausted Peter completely. Peter moved through his door out into the kitchen, where he found an elaborate spread of Thai food. A luxury neither has enjoyed since Ben’s death. “May what’s all this?”

May turned around and was clearly excited. “Peter earlier, I was called to the building’s owner’s office. After Ben died, we were entitled to half rent for six months. Something windows and children of New York thing I don’t know, I stopped listening after I heard “Rent payment refund” Peter he wrote me a cheque for over seven thousand dollars!”

Peter was so astounded he had to sit down. “Are you kidding!” May was nodding ecstatically. “Peter, isn’t this so great! We have to celebrate, so I got us your favorite.”

“Oh, May” Peter looked down at the spread of food. “I larb you.”

“I larb you too honey now come let’s eat this amazing food while it’s hot.”

Both Parker’s gladly tucked into the food. The last 24 hours had been an odd rollercoaster of emotions with plenty of sudden windfalls. 

“Oh, and honey, after you went to bed, the insurance company contacted me. They have a suggested therapist that’s covered in our insurance. She’s available for the first session tomorrow. “

Peter felt a pang of panic that May noticed. “If she’s like Dr. Schmuck, I want you to tell me, and we’re going the private route.”

“May paying out of pocket is pretty expensive.”

May slammed the table. “Peter! I would gladly sell every item in this apartment and work double shifts from here to neigh if it meant getting you the help you need. That fucking “Doctor” schmuck no wonder he was so cheap he was a quack.” 

Peter teared up from the omission. “Hey, none of that.” May spoke calmly, “Just tell me how you like the therapist tomorrow, and we’ll go from there, okay?” Peter nodded 

“And eat up, you’re a growing boy.”

That night while Peter got ready for bed he plugged his phone into his bedside charger. The screen flashed “ **3 MISSED CALLS** **”.** Peter unlocked his phone and scrolled through his call log. Around the time he was having a panic attack someone with a block number called him 3 separate times. Which is odd because if it was a missed call why would they try repeatedly and if it was a robocall it wouldn't call over and over. Peter yawned, and placed the phone back down. It's probably nothing he thought as he went to sleep.

The next afternoon Peter anxiously stared at his computer screen 15 minutes early to his first session. He knew, unlike Dr.Chuck, if this therapist wasn’t right that his and May would go private practice, but Peter was hoping that this therapist would work. And be nothing like Dr. Chuck. Peter winched, thinking about how awful their last session was a month earlier.

“So Peter, any progress this week?” Dr. Chuck spoke in a very bored tone as he shuffled through his papers. He rarely looked directly into the camera during their sessions; the lack of eye contact made Peter feel very small.

“Uh, no, not really, Dr. Chuck.”

Dr. Chuck sighed exhaustively, “This is why I prescribed you the Benzodiazepines! They would’ve helped in keeping you calm and moving into the real world, not cooped up in that nest with your aunt.”

Peter blanched. Dr. Chuck has always been hostile towards Aunt May since she put her foot down that she wouldn’t drug Peter to a zombie. 

“I’m sorry. There was something I wanted to discuss this week.”

Peter paused, embarrassed by what he wanted to talk about. “Well? Pete spit it out; it’s a 45-minute session. I’m not here for you to waste time fidgeting.”

Peter swallowed, “Well, I’ve been thinking, and I think I may be uh gay.” Peter shifted nervously. “You think you might be gay.” Dr. Chuck was finally looking at him with a cold stare. Dr.Chuck exhaled, “I _did_ predict this from the start.” “What?”

“Peter, you’re not gay, you’re only sexual experience was with a man, you’re just sexually confused, and your brain thinks _that_ was normal.” The doctor spoke condescendingly 

“I -I - I don’t think I mean -”

“This is a problem now, though. This sexual confusion you’re experiencing might evolve in you enacting a cycle of abuse.”

“What do you mean?” Peter felt a coldness sweep over him. 

“I’m saying Pete that you may repeat sexual behavior that you experience.”

“Wait. No! I don’t I could _never_ hurt a child. I’m not interested in that with kids I- I- Chuck,” Peter felt panicked breathing became difficult. 

“It’s “ _Doctor Chuck”_ Pete. We’ve been through this. No, we have to change your sessions now to revolve around this development; also, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be around any children for the time being - until I’ve sufficiently accessed you’re safe in society.” Peter felt an awful tightness in his chest. He couldn’t breathe. He was nothing like Skip. He would never want to hurt a child he-he-he -he his brain began to get fuzzy. He could feel tears on his cheeks.

“Oh, Pete, this outburst is unbecoming. Act your age.”

Peter started hyperventilating. 

“Peter? Are you okay? It sounds odd from - oh my God, Peter!”

May ran over. “Peter, come on, sweetie breath hon.”

“May don’t entertain this behavior. Pete is acting out from unfortunate news and -”

“I know for a fucking fact he told you never to call him that! He’s having a panic attack, you shithead!” Peter’s breathing was still labored. He didn’t like May yelling.

“Is everyone in your family easily hysterical? Maybe he would be less -”

“Less fucking what?” May snarled.

“Well, less effeminate. You coddle the boy. We wouldn’t be here if you didn’t because maybe he wouldn’t have allowed a man to touch him and -”

“We’re fucking done here.” May closed the laptop. And cradle Peter close, rocking him to steady his breathing. “I’m so sorry, Peter. If I knew he was such an awful, disgusting piece of shit, I would’ve never allowed a single session. I’m so sorry; I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.” May repeated over and over as she held Peter. 

Peter was brought out of his memories when his computer started making the incoming call noise. Peter exhaled and accepted the video call. What greeted him was a beautiful woman with a heart-shaped face and short dark red curly hair. She smiled when she saw Peter’s face in the web camera window. 

“Hello, you must be Peter Parker. I’m Dr. Romanov, but you are free to call me Natasha or Nat if you like.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Livvibee, Skippyjo94, talc, TheonlyceeceeJ, and Nelalila helped me soooooo much with this fic and it really wouldn't exist without them.  
> Also my older brother Robert was kind enough to provided me the tech support questions


	5. Prison wine is mighty fine (Tony)

“And I was like... What are you going to do? _Stab me_? And then I got stabbed.” Wade sat back in his chair and smiled at the group. 

“Okay, Wade, but how did that lead you here?” Hank questioned. 

“It doesn't, I just wanted to talk about my ex.” 

Tony loudly yawned. 

“Yes, Tony? Please speak. We would love to hear what you have to say today.” 

Tony waved Hank off. “Circle back to me Doc.”

Hank was visibly crestfallen from Tony’s response. “Ok, please Thor, would you like to _contribute_?”

Tony yawned again. He had spent all of last night sending easy questions to Peter. The first contained a virus of his own making, designed to infiltrate into all of Peter’s accounts, phone, and laptop. Tony smiled to himself thinking about how happy Peter looked as he received all the money. He loved watching him sleep as well but extracted himself reluctantly from the gorgeous sight. Tony had too much to do while Peter slept. 

Tony had requested a full background check on Peter’s best friend and Peter’s aunt. After all, Tony needed to be certain everyone in Peter’s life was safe for him to be around, and that Tony would be ready to meet them after getting into a real-life relationship with Peter. Being older than Aunt Hottie, he knew there would be issues. Tony was confident that he could win her over with his very best charming attitude, arranging a high paid job, and simply making Peter happy. By contrast, he knew he could get Ned on his side immediately. For one thing, he wanted Peter to be happy, and second, Tony knew he could always bribe the teen like the aunt. 

Tony stretched in his chair and let his head fall back. He hated being away from Peter for this long; he set up a “baby monitor protocol” that would alert him if anything happened to Peter. Tony had reluctantly left his video feed of Peter and Ned assembling a lego set in Peter’s room to come to this meeting. He idly thought about more gifts he can mail to the teen, it had been so wonderful seeing the boy’s face light up again when he unboxed Karen. The boy’s joy towards his tech made Tony’s heart flutter. He knew once Peter moved to StarkTower he would never leave. Everything was looking up for Tony. He couldn’t wait to meet his boy. He yawned again and closed his eyes.

  
  


_Tony walked the apartment hallway towards his goal of apartment 4C. Tony was wearing a casual suit and a graphic tee. His hair was styled and his goatee sharp and dapper. Tony made a pointed knock at the apartment door, hiding his anticipation. He wanted Peter to see a suave, handsome, genius billionaire philanthropist, not a sweaty nervous man. The door opened to Peter’s quizzical face. Tony wanted to hold it._

_“Hello?”_

_“Hello! Is this the Parker’s residence?” Tony took off his sunglasses and flashed the teen a dazzling smile, taking notice of the boy’s blush._

_“Yes. Do you need May?”_

_“No handsome, if you’re Peter Parker, then you’re the man I’m looking for. Mind if I come in sweetheart?” Peter’s face blushed in a shade that brought delight to Tony. The boy moved from the door, not subtly hiding his face from the man._

_“I’m Tony Stark.”_

_The boy stared and excitedly bounced in place “Wow! The Tony Stark of Stark Industries?” Peter gushed._

_“The one and only. You see I’ve learned about you, and I just knew I needed someone of your caliber in my company. I would like to present to you an opportunity to work and learn as my intern. It is very high paying by the way, and will reward you in lots of ways including a great deal of time in my presence.”_

_The boy’s face fell. “Uh. I love that sir. The chance to work with someone great like you but I'm so sorry I have a condition and I can't leave my home.” The boy looked down at his fidgeting feet and began tearing up._

_“Hey, sweetheart. None of that.” Tony held the boy’s chin up to look at his face. “I am already aware of your situation and I think we can work around that.”_

_The boy’s eyes widened. “You’ll do that? For me?”_

_Tony nodded “I want to work with a brilliant mind Peter of course I would do anything to make it happen.”_

_Peter leaned into Tony. “You are everything a person could hope for in a boss Mr. Stark.”_

_“Call me Tony. And I hope...” Tony’s hands cupped Peter’s neck bringing the teen’s face closer. “That one day I’ll be more than just your boss,a partner or husband maybe?”_

_Peter leaned into Tony. Mouth locking onto the older man’s.Tony’s eyes closed as the teen clumsily kissed._

_The kiss broke, Peter looked up at Tony through his eyelashes blushing furiously. “I'm sorry Tony, I'm really not experienced in this, I'm actually not a---”_

_Tony pulled the teen close, smothering Peter in his arms. “Hey, we can go as slow as you like and I can teach you anything. Both in...“ Tony kissed Peter’s left eye, “The lab...” he then kissed Peter’s right eye. “And in the bedroom.” The boy swooned on his feet. “Oh Tony, I love yo--”_

  
  


Tony was startled awake and wiped the drool from his mouth. 

“And that was my low point. When that too hot bagel bite made my tooth explode. I’d never thought I would feel lower.” 

Tony looked at Hank whose face was in total aggravated disbelief. 

“Thor, to be clear _this_ isn’t your low point? Hank confusedly motioned the overall prison and meeting. 

Thor nonchalantly nodded “No, the bagel bite tooth explosion.”

Hank rubbed his face and sighed audibly. “Let’s finish this up for today. Tony please you’re the last one.” 

“I think I’m good for today. No need to regale everyone with the amazing stories of my many fun parties, all my money, orgies with gorgeous women, and you know, things that would make people here weep and contemplate suicide. I just can’t have that on my conscience.” 

“Tony, why do you _really_ never share? This is a safe space please give the group some honesty.” 

“Ah ah ah first rule of running a business -Take all you can and give nothing back.”

“Like the business, you don’t run anymore and haven’t in years?” Tony’s eyes shot across the circle to a smirking Wade. Tony felt heated. 

“Wade, stop that. And Tony please give us something.” Hank pleaded.

“Okay okay, I’ll give.” Tony held his hands up in defeat. “It was never easy for me, I was born a poor black child. I rem-” 

“Tony!” 

The circle of men snickered and laughed. 

“Really Tony? Can’t you-” Hank spoke in anguish. 

“I got this doc.” Wade held this hand up. “You know _Tony_ it really looks like you use humor as a defense mechanism which you use to cope with unpleasant circumstances or past trauma. However, it appears this habit has turned destructive based on you being here, and your pattern of actions.”

Tony looked at Wade in disbelief “Are you fucking kidding me? Really _now_?!”

Wade smirked at Tony while Hank looked overjoyed. “Yes! Wade, you have made a very astute assessment! Tony, what Wade said is very true and I think you should think about his words. Next meeting I want actual honesty, and I’ll be talking to Charles as well.”

Tony fidgeted, he knew he now relied on the good doctor for his early release.. “But let’s end it today.” A hand went up. “Yes, John?”

“Ugly John.” 

“Yes, Ugly John? Be quick the meeting is ending.”

“We’re all God’s children and he left us in a hot car.”

A stunned silence filled the room. 

“Okay,” Hank stuttered out. “I’ll see you guys later this week. Remember _some_ of you have homework to do if you want to consider being _rewarded_.” Hank pointedly looked at Tony. 

The door to the room opened, with Charles walking in. “Hank! I see the meeting ran late. Do you mind if I speak to Stark for some time?” 

“No no no no! Me first! Me first!” Wade leaped from his seat and approached Charles. 

“Hello Wade, it’s good to see you out of the solitary unit.”

“Doctor, I would like to file a complaint against the guards. They confiscated my emotional support weapons.”

“Ah, I see.” Charles nervously fidgeted back away from Wade. Charles looked away and noticed Tony. “Tony, yes I need to speak to you at once. I’m sorry Wade please make an appointment to see me.” Charles walked away towards Tony. 

“Hey! I was here first! I know my rights!” A guard drew near Wade and escorted him out of the room with Wade grumbling on the way out, leaving the room empty to Tony and Charles. “Well? Am I going to like what Hank has to report back today?”

“Charles, Rome wasn’t built in a day.” 

“But it burned in one.” 

Tony twitched.

“Tony, if you’re not even going to try, why should I do this for you?” Tony squirmed under Charles stare.

“Look I’ll do this, mea culpa! Okay? I just need some time.” 

“Tony, first off you're a third-generation atheist don't “mea culpa” me, and second you better Tony. I can only do so much, and Hank needs to see some contrition before signing off on your release.” 

Tony was becoming irritated, he knew he needed to do this bullshit breakthrough, but couldn’t Charles see it’s difficult? He felt a headache coming on; he'd been away from Peter for too long. “I know that Charles, I’ll get it over with the next meeting. Now, do you mind? I have important things waiting for me in my cell.” Tony briskly pushed past Charles. 

Once back in his cell, Tony pulled the cell phone from the hiding place. He flipped through his camera surveillance until he saw the adorable teen. Which was odd, because said teen was just staring at the front door. Tony was perplexed and sent a message to Karen. “Karen, what’s going on? Why is Peter just looking at the door?” 

“Hello, Mr. Stark, Peter just saw his friend off and appears to be in the beginning stages of a panic attack. Should I intervene?” 

Tony straightened up. “Yes! A panic attack? Ask him something.” Tony watched and listened to the screen as Karen attempted to garner the teen’s attention, and noticed not only did the teen not react to Karen, but it appeared he was in further distress. “Shit! Karen keep trying to get his attention!” Tony began pacing in his cell worriedly thinking about what he could do. Peter’s labored breathing and crying tormented Tony. “Karen message his aunt now. Tell her to come back; that there’s an emergency.”

Tony was sweating bullets as he saw his boy crying. “Where is the fucking aunt? Peter needs help now!” 

“Would you like me to call emergency services?” 

Tony winced, Peter’s panic attack would probably worsen if he was bombarded by EMS. Also, the best response time would be four-five minutes. Without thinking it through Tony opened the call feature and started to call Peter. He could hear the phone buzz in Peter’s room from the laptop’s surveillance. Peter still wasn’t responding to Karen or his phone. Tony cursed as he dialed again and watched Peter’s full-blown panic attack on screen. 

“Please, _please_ stop crying baby. I’m here at least and I'm not going anywhere.” Tony pleaded to the screen. 

Tony became irate towards Ned and May. How dare they leave poor fragile Peter to this pain? Tony dialed again when the door opened to a panicked May. 

“Finally!” Tony yelled at the screen as May held Peter and calmed his panic attack. Tony’s attention was focused on the method. After all, he may have to do the same for Peter one day. May petted Peter’s hair and brought him back to his bedroom. Tony switched cameras to watch. He listened to the conversation between May and Peter. 

“Peter, we need to get you a new therapist this week. I don’t care about the costs. I’ll gladly work seven days a week if it means you get better.” 

The boy spoked drowsily “Yes, May. I’ll look into it,” and fell asleep. 

Tony watched for a few moments the rhythmic up and down of Peter’s sleeping chest, making sure the teen seemed fine and wasn't at risk of another attack. Tony had a sudden idea. He minimized Peter’s camera and pulled the phone’s call app. Tony dialed the number and listened to a woman’s voice. 

“Hello?” 

“Nat it’s Tony. Don’t hang up. I can pay you.” 

A loud exasperated groan was heard. “What do you want Tony?” 

“I need your help and believe me you’ll be doing good on this gig. Are you still the patron saint of broken children Nat?” 

A pause. “I’m listening.” 

“Well, I know someone that you can really help, and I’m the guy that’s willing to pay as much as you want if you help him.”

Later Tony watched Peter and May eat their dinner. He pulled out his designated Peter notebook and wrote down the food order and restaurant. Tony kept a detailed notebook on everything he knew about Peter. He flipped to the page he had written gifts to send to the teen. Once Peter and Tony met Tony was certain to spoil him rotten with the world, but currently Tony would only be purchasing some new clothes for Peter. He may be stuck at home but Peter should still look snazzy in his web camera when he “attends” classes. 

Tony realized after the web camera gift, that if he staggered his gifts to Peter and kept the prices low enough, the innocent, unassuming teen assumed they were from his aunt, while May assumed the packages were Peter finally spending his hard-earned money. Tony knew he was walking a precarious line but _he had to_ . The boy _needed_ things and Tony was overwhelmed with happiness seeing the boy’s face light up when he unboxed his gifts.

Tony fell asleep that night, and every night since receiving the cellphone, watching Peter sleep. Tony would sit and enjoy his liquid breakfast while Peter ate his. He would laugh with Peter while Peter watched videos. Peter’s life became Tony’s sole purpose. Tony wanted to know everything about the teen, which led him to sit in Peter’s session. 

Tony sat at his bolted desk cell propped up and notebook in front. He knew with this that he’d really get to know the teen. He saw Peter’s cute face in the webcam looking rather morose. Then Natsahas’s window opened. 

“Hello, you must be Peter Parker. I’m Dr. Romanov, but you are free to call me Natasha, or Nat if you like.” 

Peter blushed at Natasha’s words. Tony felt a pang of jealousy. “Careful Nat, he’s mine. you're only here to help him get to a good point to meet _me._ ”

“Uh. Hi! Hello sorry, I'm Peter Parker. Nice to meet you.” The teen adorably stumbled over his words. 

Nat gave him a fond smile. “Would you like me to call you Peter? Pete? Mr. Parker?” 

“Peter, Peter is best. Sorry, I’m nervous.” 

“That's okay Peter today we’re going to ease into this. It’s very important to me that you're comfortable with me as your therapist.” 

Tony nodded at Nat’s skill and he knew she would be perfect for this. Abruptly a message appeared. **I know you're watching. Leave now.** Tony felt an icy coldness overcome him. He looked over at Nat’s and Peter’s window. Peter was looking down at his hands when Tony noticed Nat’s cold stare right into the camera. A second message popped up. **Stark, I’ll tell Peter I have to leave if you don't. I want to help him and having you lurk isn't going to help him.** Tony was irate. He was paying her, why does she get to call the shots. He needed to know everything about Peter and this was the perfect method, she’s not going to take this away from him. Tony obstinately continued watching. 

“My last therapist - I don't think he was very good. He- he made me upset a lot.”

Tony's face screwed up. He didn't like hearing that. Maybe he needed to look into Peter’s former therapist and maybe-. Tony noticed a new message popped up. **Stark you have the count of 3 to leave.** Tony blinked and another message popped up. **2.** Tony panically shut the windows of the therapy sessions. Irked as he stared at the severed connection to the wealth of knowledge. Tony paced the cell. Sucking down his alcohol waiting for the session to end so he could call Nat and curse her audacity and keeping him out. Tony started to feel very tipsy when his phone started buzzing. He surged across the cell and snatched the phone answering without checking the ID he knew who was calling. 

“Nat, what the fuck?” Tony barked out.

“Hello Stark, nice weather we’re having aren't we?” Nat spoke in a lazily smug manner. 

“I am fucking paying you --” 

“To what Stark? Stalk your future sugar baby? By the way, I like him. I'm going to help him. But I won't if you're watching. That's my hard line on this. Take it or leave it.” 

“ _This_ is the hill you die on? After all I know you have done, your limit is the privacy of a teen?” 

“Yep.”

Tony gripped the phone. “Fine. But I want _some_ details.” 

“Gladly. Peter is a wonderful young man who has suffered more than anyone should in several lifetimes. His last therapist was by all accounts a piece of shit.” 

Tony nodded and started writing a note to himself to look into Peter’s last therapist. 

“He is severally agoraphobic, he has an anxiety disorder, and currently is struggling with being gay while being a victim of sexual abuse from a man.” 

Tony was relieved to hear Peter’s sexuality. It had been a worrisome thorn in his mind that Peter would reject Tony based on his gender. 

“And that is all you're getting from me. Stalker.”

“Can you help him?” 

“I think so. I look forward to seeing him soon. And Stark, I'm not kidding, no more backdoor watching when I'm with him. Byeee!” 

The line went dead. Tony looked at the ended call thinking over what Nat had informed him. He switched over to Peter’s camera, who was thankfully just laying in bed staring at the ceiling. Tony smiled at the sweet teen. He watched curiously as Peter brought his hand up and began palming his crotch. _Well isn't this a new and very welcomed development._ Tony thought as he brought his hand down to feel his stiffening cock.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Livvibee was nice enough to wonderfully edit my southernly grammar.  
> Livvibee, Skippyjo94, talc, TheonlyceeceeJ, and Nelalila helped me soooooo much with this fic and it really wouldn't exist without them.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NeS4ueaU6w
> 
> to those young one's here who never saw "The Jerk"


	6. Children don't need to be strong (Peter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ngl I think this chapter sucks, but let's crack on. I hate writing an OMC but I know the future pay off will be great so whateves.

“Hello, you must be Peter Parker. I’m Dr. Romanov, but you are free to call me Natasha or Nat if you like.” The doctor smiled at Peter. 

The teen was taken aback by the cordial welcome. “Uh. Hi! Hello, sorry, I'm Peter Parker. Nice to meet you.”

Nat gave him a fond smile. “Would you like me to call you Peter? Pete? Mr. Parker?” 

“Peter, Peter is best. Sorry, I’m nervous.” 

“That's okay Peter. Today we’re going to ease into this. It’s very important to me that you're comfortable with me as your therapist.” 

Peter smiled at the screen. Dr. Romanov was a polar opposite to Dr. Chuck. 

“So for the first session, I’d like to hear what your goals are in coming to therapy.”

“Um well, you have my file right?”

“Yes but I prefer to hear your words. Take your time, the session may be 45 minutes but I believe sessions should last as long as needed.” 

Peter was growing more and more astounded by the juxtaposition of the therapist from Dr. Chuck. During one session with the former, Peter was sobbing to the doctor about an awful nightmare the night before about Skip. At 44 minutes Dr.Chunk had loudly announced to Peter he had 60 seconds to wrap things up before the appointment was over. Peter wept as the Doctor closed the appointment and Peter felt worse than before. Peter looked at his hands.

“Well, I would like to be normal. I want to be able to leave my apartment and go back to school and not have nightmares.”

“Normal is an illusion. What’s normal for the lioness is chaos for the gazelle. I don’t think our standard should be everyone else’s normal. I think we should focus on improving your overall life and happiness. But I understand what I think your goals are. Can you tell me more about your life, please?”

“I’m fifteen, I’ll be sixteen soon. I live in Queens. I live with my Aunt May. I love science and school. I have a best friend, um, his name is Ned and I haven’t left my apartment in over a year.” Peter looked up at Dr. Romanov’s face who nodded. Peter swallowed and continued.

“I was fine and then I wasn’t. I had a babysitter and he - I don't want to say”

''Peter, I want you to be comfortable and only say what you want to.” Dr. Romanov softly spoke.

“Alright, and I thought after he was gone I would be fine that life could go on and then he - Skip came back and everything was still  _ fine. _ And then my uncle Ben went out after I told him and he never came back and I don’t know, it was like nothing made sense and I didn’t know how to deal with anything and I woke up in a mental hospital which was  _ fine _ because I knew it was only 30 days and I did the 30 days and I saw May and I thought once I came back home I could go back to before and everything would be  _ fine _ but when I got back it wasn’t fine. And I just couldn’t leave.”

Peter exhaled and looked at the doctor. 

“I want to help you, Peter. I won’t lie to you, pain doesn’t make you stronger, but I think I can help you feel better. Would you like to continue in the session or do you feel at your limit?” 

“I can go on,” Natasha nodded.

“I would like you to tell me about your last therapist as much as you feel comfortable with, please.”

Peter fretted in his chair.

“Well, my last therapist - I- I don't think he was very good. He made me upset a lot.”

He looked up at Dr. Romanov’s concerned face.

“He was the only one available for this kind of therapy and in our insurance price range. Aunt May really hated him. He prescribed some pills to calm me down but I hated them. I would get all these side effects and I would sleep like death for fifteen hours.”

Dr.Romanov began flipping through some papers.

“He prescribed you benzodiazepines?” She nearly yelled appallingly. “That’s excessive for a fifteen-year-old.” The woman looked at the teen astonishedly.

“Peter, this last therapist doesn’t sound like he was an effective counselor in the slightest. What else can you tell me about him?”

Peter started shaking. “Um well, the last appointment was just awful. He um, he said...” Peter’s eyes became watery. 

“Yes, Peter?”

“I told him I think I’m gay and he started to say that I’m not and that I’m just re-enacting my abuse and that I can’t be around kids.” Peter’s hands flew to his face, shamefully avoiding Natasha’s gaze. 

“Oh, Peter. I’m so sorry that you had to go through that. Some therapists aren’t meant for therapy. This one honestly doesn’t seem fit to be a human.”

Peter looked at the screen. 

“You disagree with him.”

“I think I would disagree on everything in existence but gravity with him.”

Peter swallowed. “I - I think I’m gay.” 

“And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Is it because of what happened with Skip?” 

“Of course not, Peter. What that vile man did does not define you. You are not what was done to you.”

“I’m afraid I’m like Skip.”

“Do you want to hurt children?”

“No!”

“Then you’ll never be like him, Peter.”

“It can’t be that simple.”

“Why not?” 

Peter was silent. “Have you told anyone else?”

“Yeah, my best friend Ned.”

“And how did he respond?”

“He said ‘That’s cool man, some dudes are really hot. I get it.’”

Natasha chuckled into her hand. 

“He sounds like a supportive friend.”

“He is. Ned’s great. After everything, he’s always been there for me and he’s really been the greatest best friend a guy like me could ask for.”

“Do you feel romantic feelings towards Ned?”

“No, no way Ned’s great but he’s straight and has a girlfriend.” 

“Then is there someone you’re interested in?”

“Um no, I’d like to have a boyfriend one day but it’s hard with May and stuff.”

“Would May have any issues with you bringing another boy over?”

“No, I don’t think so I just - I’m afraid to tell her.”

“Why? May seems supportive and caring.”

“It just feels like I’m always messing up and making her life harder and I’m worried that another thing would just --”

“That she would stop loving you?”

“Yes,” Peter whispered. 

“Peter, I won’t tell you what to do but I think you will find a lot of your fears would end if you told your aunt about your feelings. Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.”

Peter nodded. 

“Anything else you would like to talk about?”

“Uh, I’m worried about having panic attacks with a guy.”

“Like sexually?”

“Yes.”

“Well, given your history,it’s a delicate matter. But what’s important is that you don’t rush things like this and when you meet a boy your age, that you are comfortable and aren’t pressured into things that you don’t want to do. I think we can go over sexual triggers and overcoming and coping another time. You look rather exhausted to me.”

“Yeah, today was a lot.”

“I’m going to send you some information on some exercises and panic attack methods. Next session I want to start moving towards leaving your home. I’m also going to send you my contact information. I want you to be able to contact me at any time if you need to. Before I forget, would you like to ask me any questions about me? I don't wish for you to feel that there’s a barrier between us.” 

Peter began raking his tired brain for something to ask the doctor.

“Um uh, what's your favorite animal?” Peter stumbled. “I’m sorry that’s stupid.” Natasha laughed.

“No, it's a great question actually I find it can reveal a lot about a person. And my favorite I would say is a spotted hyena. They live in matriarchal packs. The strongest male is still ten times weaker than the weakest female. I also love how protective the females are over their young.”

Peter nodded. 

“Goodbye Peter, I look forward to seeing you again.”

Peter waved at the camera.

Peter sighed and he felt a headache coming. He got up and stretched and lazily walked the apartment. He came back to his bedroom and fell into bed. Rolling over he stared at the ceiling. Months of therapy with Dr. Chuck had never made him hopeful. But Dr.Romanov seemed to legitimately want to help him. Peter felt with her, maybe he could have a future outside of the apartment. Of going to school, seeing Ned, maybe meeting a guy. 

Peter thought about that. Having a boyfriend, going on dates, and talking, and other things. 

Peter closed his eyes and he thought about what he would like in a guy. Someone who looked nothing like Skip for one thing. Peter imagined a man, dark hair, around his height. Someone who looked nothing like Skip.

Peter signed at the illusion. He imagined the phantom looking down at Peter and leaning over and kissing him softly. Peter brought his hand down to palm his crotch. Feeling his cock stiffening, he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans and slid them and his boxers down his slim hips. 

He began to stroke his hardening cock as he continued his fantasy. He imagined the other man gently kissing him then moving down his neck. Sucking and licking his neck. Peter moved his hand under his shirt caressing his chest as he imagined the illusion doing it. Gently tugging his nipples as he stroked faster. He gathered the precum at the head to better the motion of the stroking. 

Peter gently panted as he imagined the fantasy man reaching down and taking Peter’s cock in hand,stroking and gliding his hand up and down. Peter was close to climax as he pulled at his nipple and twisted his hand up over the head of his cock. Peter gasped, rolled over to his side, and spurted cum onto his duvet. He shivered as the aftershocks pulled the last drops of cum out of him. He panted into his pillow as his fantasy disappeared. 

He leaned over the bed and grabbed a shirt from the floor to wipe the semen from his bed and carefully ran it over his over sensitive cock head. He threw the dirtied shirt down and pulled his boxers and jeans back up. Now physically and emotionally exhausted he felt his eyelids got heavy and thought about a quick nap when the front door locks startled him awake. He leaped up checking how he looked and walking towards the entrance to Karen greeting a happy May. 

“Hey, sweetie. How was your first session?”

“It was good, I really like Dr. Romanov.”

“Oh, funny enough she called me after your session. She felt that speaking to me would benefit in helping her. I like her too! I was really shocked to hear her voice. I was imagining an old woman with a thick accent but she sounds pretty. She cute?”

Peter blushed under May’s smirk.

“She’s very pretty.”

“Oooooo Peter may have a little crush on the doctor.” May jested.

“No, she’s just very pretty.”

“Sure thing Peter.” May continued to smirk.

“I’m gay.”

Silence.

“Ugh finally!”

“What?”

“Peter, I’m so happy you finally told me but I’ve known for years.”

“What?!”

“You had crushes on other boys in school and yes I know sometimes kids do that, it just didn't seem like a phase for you. Plus you just never seemed to like girls that way.”

“I can't believe this.” Peter was stunned. “So you’re fine?”

“Of course, there’s nothing wrong with it. Why did you tell me suddenly?”

“Dr. Romanov said I should just tell you.”

“Ah, I like her more and more.” 

Peter laughed inwardly. He heard a sudden “Bing” from his computer and started walking back. 

“Oh, honey you take this. You got another package.”

“Thanks, May.”

“My future son in law better be cute!” May called as Peter walked away. “And handy! I want someone to rely on fixing things.”

“Bla Bla Bla Bla, I can’t hear you, I’m going deaf.”

Peter threw the box on his bed and crouched down to look at his screen. And found the immediate tech support request. Peter could guess who it was before even opening the message.

**AskJarvis46 : Today is a good day, no help needed. - $100.**

Peter was unruffled by the sudden request. AskJarvis46 would occasionally send $100s. But all those would be attached to “ **For solving my issues so fast.”** or “ **This was a really difficult problem, here’s extra.”** Peter was still very much confused by the nearly daily benevolence of the odd person. After all, the person would still send questions like 

**“Can you reset my internet? It’s super slow today.”** and “ **I want to print this in color but my printer is only in black and white. How do I fix this?”**

Peter didn’t know why someone would send  _ him _ so many strange tech questions but the money was a blessing. And with the sudden rent repayment, May had apparently spent some of it on Peter which at the moment he was looking down at an open delivery box filled with new clothes. 

“Wow!” Peter picked up the new clothes gingerly. He had gone through a growth spurt and 90% of his clothes no longer fit along with all his shoes held together with duct tape. He was elated as he held his new trainers. He ran down to the living room where May was watching tv. 

“Thanks, May! I love you!” 

“Yes, hon I love you too.” 

Peter ran back to his room excitedly looking at all his new clothes and shoes. He picked out an outfit and tried it on. Enjoying the new fit. Even when Ben was alive most of Peter’s clothing came second hand. Peter didn’t think he had owned so many new clothes at once. He was grateful for May’s generosity.

_ Next Morning _

Peter sat at the kitchen table lazily scrolling through his phone when a call came in. Peter answered the phone. 

“Hello?” “Peter, it’s Natasha. I think today we should do our first exercise.” 

“Ok sure, what should I do?” 

“I want you to go to the front door.”

Peter walked over. 

“Ok, I'm here.” 

“Unlock it and take a step out.”

“I don't know.” Peter felt a nervous tension. 

“Peter? I know this is hard but this is the first step. I'm here with you.Please tell me what you're feeling.” 

“I feel panicked and terrified. And stupid because why is this hard?”

“Breath slow and unlock the door, close your eyes if you have to.” 

Peter reached and unlocked the door and placed his hand on the knob. 

“I don't think I can do this.” 

“Peter, imagine you're opening your bedroom door and walking into your room. Just pretend.”

“Ok,” Peter closed his eyes and imagined he was in front of his bedroom door. He turned the doorknob and pushed the door open and took a reluctant step out into the hallway. 

“Peter? What's happening now?” 

“I'm outside. I'm in the hallway.”

“Good how do you feel?” 

“I’m uncomfortable but I think I’m ok.” 

“You're doing very well Peter. This was an important first step.”

“Can I- can I go back inside?” 

“Yes, and if you're up for it I would like to have a mini session.” Peter quickly moved inside shutting and locking the door. 

“I just want to go over some exercises to help transition you into making progress outside. I want you to try and daily walk into the hallway. Today we’re going to try one more time tonight and tomorrow attempt it three times and see how it goes. Now I can be on the phone as often as you like during these exercises.” 

“Yes please. I feel better with you on the phone, Dr. Romanov.” 

“Please Peter, call me Nat or Natasha. I find Dr. Romanov too formal.” 

“Yes, Ms. Natasha.”

Natasha laughed.

“Ok, we’re going to go over some focus method for later. I’ll go over some other methods as well as coping cards to help with daily anxiety. 

“Yes, Ma'am.” 

“Where are you in your home right now and is May there?” 

“I'm in the living room, May’s dead asleep in her room.” 

“I'm here, too.” Karen’s voice chirped.

”Yeah! Karen’s here. Oh yeah, I didn't tell you. But Karen is this great AI in this Stark tablet May won.”

Natasha exhaled in annoyance. “Really, Tony?” 

“What did you say Ms. Natasha?” 

“Nothing Peter, I’m sorry. But let's switch to your laptop in your room.” 

“I can do that but can I ask why?”

There was a reluctance in Natasha’s voice. “I just think it creates a more comfortable setting and I find seeing your face allows me to better gauge your emotions better.”

Later after the session ended Peter was flipping over his coping cards. He was pulled away when his phone buzzed with a text message. 

**Ned - I’m at the door. I don’t want to wake May.**

Peter walked and unlocked the apartment door. 

“Hey man, they let me pick up your textbooks at the school opening,” Ned whispered. Peter took the bundle from Ned and flipped through the textbooks, leading the other teen to his bedroom 

Peter whispered. “I was able to leave the apartment today.” 

“Wow! That’s great. What happened?”

“My new therapist Dr. Romanov is amazing. She just knows how to help me.”

“That’s so great man. I’m so happy for you.” 

“Its only one step but she showed me all these panic attack exercises and I really like her and she said I should tell May about being gay and I did.” 

“You did it! What happened?” 

“Sheeee  _ knew.  _ Told me she had a good idea for years and told me she was happy I finally told her.” 

“That’s so great Peter. See nothing to worry about!” 

“No, she was just embarrassing. But she also bought me new school clothes too.” Peter lifted the box of new clothes and presented it to the other teen. 

“These look really nice. She really cares about you. By the way, your security door is nuts. It took me forever to type the passcode in right. And there are a ton of cameras all over but it looks like there’s more just on your floor.”

“Yeah, we still don’t know what’s that about. I guess the landlord is just avoiding a break- in lawsuit or something or maybe just upgrades? We even got a new high tech thermostat. It’s so cool Karen, is locked into the thermostat like with all the other electronics!” 

“Wow! Dude, it’s so good that after everything that things are turning around.” 

“Yeah it’s nice, I think this will be a great year.”

Over the next week, Peter did his exercises and worked at his growing steps outside of the apartment. After two weeks Peter finally made his first step right outside the new security door at the apartment entrance. As Peter walked back to his apartment he felt a sense of pride as Ms. Natasha spoke to him about his progress. 

“It’s significant Peter, how well you’ve done so far in therapy.” 

”Thank you Ms. Natasha I -”

“Hey, I didn’t know there was another guy my age here.”

Peter looked up from his phone to find a stocky teen boy with black hair smiling at him. 

“Peter, what’s happening?” 

“Uh, nothing Ms. Natasha. I’ll call you back.” 

“Um. Hi, I’m Peter.” Peter shakily held his hand up in an introduction.

“Hey, I’m Luke. I was just saying I didn’t know of another guy our age in the building.” 

“Yeah, I don’t go out much.” 

“I just moved here. I’m staying with my gramps over in 5D.” 

“I live with my aunt in 4C.”

“What high school do you go to? I’m a sophomore at Maspeth. Go Argonauts. ” 

“I’m a sophomore too but at MidTown high.” 

Luke whistled. “Isn’t that like the super-smart school?” 

“It’s gifted.” 

“That’s pretty cool. I'm not like smart, but I do fine. I really just care about playing hockey. In my opinion, I’m the best player on the team. You ever-” 

“Luke, you’re still here? Get going or you’ll be late for practice!” An older man appeared at the top of the stairs. 

“I’m going, I'm going alright! Hey sorry, I got to go but I hope to see you more often. Nice meeting you Peter.”

The teen gripped Peter’s bicep as he walked down the stairs. Peter gradually made his way back to the apartment. After opening the front door Peter leaned back into the door resting his head on the wood. 

“Peter? Hey, how was practice?” May’s concerned face came into view. 

“It was fine, great. I should call Ms. Natasha. I had to hang up on her.” 

“Why?” 

“Someone new was asking me something.” 

“Oh?” May’s face broke out into a grin. 

“Who’d you meet?” Peter blushed. 

“Another teen. He said his name was Luke.” Peter felt his face blush harder under May’s stare. 

“Oh, I met him. He’s cute.” 

“Yes, I mean no, I mean, I need to talk to Ms. Natasha.” Peter stuttered and walked to his room jerkily. As he made his escape May’s voice broadcasted throughout the apartment. 

“He would make a good son in law!” Peter groaned in embarrassment as he pulled his video call to Natasha. Her concerned face filled the screen. 

“Peter is everything alright? You disconnected the call.” 

“Yeah everything’s fine, great actually. A new person to the building was just introducing himself.”

“That's good Peter, how did you feel?”

“Nervous but it was nice talking to him, I hope to do that again. Ned’s great but I would like more friends.”

“You seem to have made a positive connection, please tell me about him.” 

“Um, he said his name is Luke. He plays hockey. He goes to Maspeth High school. Uh. He’s the same year as me. He lives with his grandfather and he’s uh, cute, I mean handsome, I think.”

Natasha smirked. 

“You know what Peter I think this is the start of a wonderful thing.”

“You do?”

“Yes, what better way to start the school year than to challenge yourself and make new friends.”

“Yeah, I think this year will be great.”

“That's the spirit. Now, are you excited for the first day tomorrow?”

_ The next day _

Schooling from home in a lot of ways was pretty good in Peter’s opinion. He got to roll out of bed, he never missed the bus, didn't have to eat the semi-edible cafeteria food, didn't get to experience the interactions with friends, or have fun in class, or go to clubs or meet people or create lasting memories. 

Peter sighed to himself, but jolted into awareness as his screen activated. Peter attended classes via Ned’s laptop camera and through an online schooling portal. It wasn't the same as being there. Most of the faculty seemed to be under the impression he was stuck in a bubble and not a traumatized teen who couldn’t leave his apartment. 

**TheGuyintheChair: You ok? You don't look too well.**

Peter looked in his camera forgetting that Ned could see a small version of him in the corner of his screen. 

**Parker’sLuck01: Yeah sorry I’m good. Just writing notes.**

**TheGuyintheChair: Hey I think I have something that you’ll like. Can you be online today around 3:45?**

**Parker’sLuck01: Yeah I can but what are you planning?**

**TheGuyintheChair: You’ll see :)**

Peter was perplexed over the surprise but went back to paying attention to class. The rest of the day went fine for Peter. After a year of doing the same routine, it was like an old hat. Something he, Ned, and the faculty had gotten used to the odd sight of what looks like a seemingly normal healthy teen and Ned carrying a laptop open everywhere. 

With the school day ending Peter said his goodbyes to Ned. 

“Don't forget, be back online in thirty minutes.” 

“I will Ned. But can you tell me why?”

“Nope. See you in thirty.” 

And with that Peter was disconnected from Ned. Peter got up and stretched and lazily walked around his apartment. Peter decided that he should use the time to perform his daily exercises. He opened his front door and began his breathing exercises and started walking down through the stairwells and to the front entrance and back. As Peter made his way back up a voice called out. 

“Hey! Peter!”

Peter turned around to Luke, smiling up at him hurriedly catching up to him.

“Good day at smart kid school?” 

Peter nodded. “Um yeah, I think so. How was yours?”

“Ugh boring. Couldn't wait to get out of there. I'm just looking forward to hockey practice you know?”

“Yeah I mean I've never done sports clubs.” 

Luke grabbed Peter’s wrist.

“Well, then you should come to one of my games! It’ll be fun.” Luke excitedly cheered. Peter blushed and looked at the wrist. Luke followed his eyes and quickly unlatched his hand. The other teen flushed in color. Looking away from Peter he mumbled, “I mean if you  _ want.  _ You should come to a hockey game, it would be fun.” 

Peter couldn't help but chuckle at the other teen’s fluster. The teen looked over at Peter and broke out into a smile.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to your door.” Peter and Luke walked in a comfortable silence throughout the stairwells. Once they got to Peter’s door the darker hair teen started fidgeting more. 

“Well, here you are. Um, nice seeing you Peter.”

And briskly started walking up towards the stairs. As Peter turned to open the apartment door Luke’s voice called. 

“Hey uh, I hope to see you soon. It’s nice talking to you.” Peter looked at the scarlet flustered face of the earnest teen. Peter smiled 

“Yeah, I hope to see you soon.” The teen’s scarlet face swiftly moving away and running up the stairs.

Peter felt overjoyed, he had made a friend. He was getting better. Anddddd he was five minutes late to Ned’s surprise. Peter hurriedly walked and turned his laptop on panicking over being late. The screen opened to an annoyed Ned. 

“Dude you're late!”

“I'm sorry, I had a thing. I had a therapy thing.” 

Ned’s face lost all annoyance. 

“Well okay then.” Seemliginy placated. “Anyway here’s the surprise!” Ned spun the camera to several teens and that looked bewildered at the laptop. 

“Uh. What's going on Ned?” 

“This is The Midtown Academic Decathlon! And you're joining.” 

“What!? Ned I-I- I can't join, how would I?” 

“It’ll be fineeee. Look you're getting better and you're smart, and it's only a matter of time before you're back at school so why not join now?” Peter was skittish and embarrassed as he looked at the various club members. One member spoke up and waved at the camera. 

“Hi? I’m Liz. I'm team captain. Ned kinda told us your situation and I think we can make this work. I mean, even if you can't really join you can still practice with us.” Liz waved the other members closer. “That's Abe,” the boy nodded and smiled. “That's Betty.” 

“My girlfriend!” Ned interrupted. 

“Mr. Harrington is in the back going over questions. And we have Suzan over there, MJ, and Jordan. Lastly,” 

“This is stupid,” a voice was heard out of shot of Peter’s view. 

“Flash don't be a dick.” The girl Peter believed was named “MJ” spoke to who Peter figured was Flash. “

“No this is stupid. He’s on a computer, he can type all the questions and see the answers.” 

“You're just afraid with a new member you’ll become a backup member,” MJ spoke. Flash scoffed. 

“Like I can be afraid of a guy that can cheat.”

“Um, guys? I can just hold my hands up? So I can't type?” Peter brought his hands up to show the team. 

“Yes, I think that’ll work. Everyone lets run drills with Peter.” Liz announced.

Peter brought his hands up and ran drills with various members of the team. It went well. Peter was happy with how the other members seemed to warm up to him. Everyone except Flash seemed to welcome the new contrasting member.

“Let's call it a day guys. Peter, you were so great!” Liz’s excited face entered the frame. One by one the other members walked by the camera and said their goodbyes to Peter. Finally, Ned’s face entered. 

“Great surprise?” Peter’s face hurt from smiling so much.

“Best surprise.”

“That's so great man. I knew you would do amazing!

“I’ll video call you when I get home, okay? Bye.” Ned disconnected. Peter found his reflection in the screen still smiling. He couldn't imagine the school year starting off so well. He was filled with a wave of hope that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Over the next few days, life went on. Peter was at his computer following his teacher’s calculus lesson. 

“Ok, I think we need to break for five minutes before I start going over what will be on the first exam. I’m going to the teacher’s lounge to pick up some papers. Yes, Ned?”

“Can I get a hall pass to the bathroom?” Peter got up from his chair and stretched walking around his room as he grabbed another notebook to use. As he sat back down he noticed his screen was black. He started refreshing the window. Still black. He felt a surge of anxiety then Ned’s voice cut through. Peter started panicking. 

**TheGuyintheChair: Hey my camera isn’t working can you see/hear anything????**

**Parker’sLuck01: I can hear everything fine but I can't see anything through the camera.**

**TheGuyintheChair: Fuck.**

“Ned sit down, the break is ending.” 

“Mr. Allen, someone messed with my laptop, the camera’s all gummed up.” The teacher audibly sighed. 

“Okay, guys who did that? Come on, tell me now and you'll be in less trouble than when I find out later.”

Peter strained his ears to hear any confession. 

“No? Should I just punish the whole class then?”

“I saw Flash walking over and doing something to Ned’s computer, Mr. Allen.” 

“Thank you, Amanda. Flash, did you do this?”

“No, I just walked over. I didn't touch it.” 

“The camera’s probably ruined. I can't get any signal from it!” 

“Flash! You have detention and you have to see the principal over this.” 

“Fine.” 

“Now that this distraction is settled, let's move on to cover what the first exam will look like.”

“Hey wait! What about Peter? He can't see anything that's not fair!”

“I will send Peter a PDF of the lesson plan.”

“Yeah but that's not the same, it's not fair to him.”

“Ned what would you have me do? It's the best I can do with the situation now. Do you mind or will the entire class suffer because Peter can’t be here? Let's get to this, no more interruptions. Now let's look at the first formula you’ll have to memorize.”

Peter leaned back in his chair. Frustrated at the whole event. It wasn't fair. None of it was fair. 

A ping sounded from his computer. 

**TheGuyintheChair: Hey I'm really sorry I'll make sure the cam’s fixed by Monday.**

**Parker’sLuck01: it’s fine, just focus on the lesson. I’ll be fine.**

**TheGuyintheChair: I’m still sorry, I didn't know jealous dick Flash would do that.**

Peter rubbed his eyes. No, it wasn't fair. He had to get up. Peter walked around annoyed at the loss of quality education over a grudge from someone he had zero methods of protecting himself from. Peter walked to the couch and sat down suddenly exhausted from frustration. 

“Peter are you okay?” Karen’s concerned voice broke into Peter’s irritation.

“No, Karen. I'm missing out on notes from the first exam over someone’s pettiness.” 

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Peter figured by now the lesson was over and Ned was on his way to Gym class which Peter was exempt for obvious reasons. The phone

showed he had an email from the teacher. Peter opened the email to the exam study guide. Peter signed in annoyance. He knew by the second bullet he needed help. He started wording an email of questions to his teacher.

“Peter, if I may? I have contact information for someone who can help you with this subject. I can call him from my screen and I can interface your lesson with him.”

Peter stopped typing and thought about it. It would be easier to get help from face to face rather than through email.

“I guess that's fine. I mean if you suggest this guy?”

“To my knowledge, there’s not a better teacher in mathematics and he’s available now. Should I connect?” 

“Sure. I mean, if you say he can help.”

Karen’s screen changed to a calling screen. After a few moments, a reluctant man’s voice came through. 

“Uh, hey.” 

“Hello? I’m Peter. Karen said you can help me with my calculus exam?” 

“Eh yeah, I can help kid.” The voice sounded uncomfortable and reluctant. 

“Are you sure sir? I don't want to bother you.”

“Sorry kid I was just taken aback with the sudden message from Karen. I'm happy to help you.”

Peter felt a wave of relief. 

“Thank you, sir?”

“Anthony. Call me Anthony.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skippyjo94 was nice enough to edit and look it over for me.  
> Livvibee, Skippyjo94, talc, TheonlyceeceeJ, and Nelalila helped me soooooo much with this fic and it really wouldn't exist without them.  
> Hey, so this took nearly 2 weeks to write. I'm trying to write the next few/edit chapters quicker but with COVID having an over 900% increase in my state and the election has really put me in a bad headspace and I just don't know how long it'll be till I post the next chapter.


	7. People show you who they are (Tony)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bring you smut. And I have zero impulse control. Hey sorry yall I didn't notice that when I transferred from google docs to here it would change the font. It's fixed now

Tony fumbled with his phone in one hand while hurriedly stuffing the other down his front to grip his cock. On the cellphone screen was Peter removing his jeans and boxers. So far since the web camera's introduction, Tony had not seen much of Peter’s body. The boy would get dressed quickly and efficiently and seemed to only be nude in the bathroom where Tony had zero access to. Tony began to stroke his cock in unison to Peter’s strokes. 

Tony moaned watching Peter pinching his nipples. Licking his lips imagining the sweet taste of Peter’s skin and how deeply he wanted nothing more than to replace Peter’s hands with his own. Peter turned over suddenly and Tony could tell based on the grunting and aftershocks that Peter had just climaxed. 

Tony increased his stroking until he felt his climax overcomes him. Tony kept his eyes locked on the screen feeling his cock spurting as his eyes were glued to a panting half-naked Peter. Tony’s breathing was ragged as he leaned back in his cot he realized that he had the best orgasm in years. Tony continued watching Peter clean himself up and redressed himself. Tony was saddened to see Peter reclothed so quickly. 

Karen alerted him that May was unlocking the front door. With May home Tony doubted a double feature was happening anytime soon. Tony morosely tucked his softening cock back into his uniform and lazily cleaned the spent cum. Tony kept the cell phone near, the volume low to hear May’s and Peter’s conversation. 

Once he regained his composure and cleaned up he went back to his phone opening up Peter’s tech support site. With a show like that Peter deserved a little extra for today. After sending the quick hundred dollars Tony went back switching through all the security cameras installed at the Parker’s apartment building. Tony had set up Karen to be watchful of any suspicious activity and going on at the complex but Tony felt dutiful to keep an eye out anyway. Nothing seemed off so Tony switched back to his favorite camera, the one in Peter’s bedroom, which the screen brought an excited Peter going through the new clothes Tony had sent. Tony’s face broke out into a massive grin watching Peter happily going through the box’s contents. 

Peter suddenly dashed to the living room squealing “Thanks, May! I love you!”.

Tony couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene. He didn’t mind May unknowingly taking credit for Tony’s gifts. 

“You’re welcome, Kid.” Tony grinned at the screen. Tony knew that once Peter was moved into the penthouse he would provide the world to the teen. Tony loved seeing his boy on-screen happily pulling out all the clothes throwing them on the bed. Tony became really happy when it appeared Peter was now going to try on all the new clothes. Tony leaned back against the wall and started to stuff his hand back down his pants again ready for his good fortune of seeing Peter happy and eagerly pulling his clothes off. 

Late that night Tony watches a sleeping Peter's rhythmic breathing. Tony was mesmerized by Peter’s sweet little face unburdened by all pain smoothly sleeping with the covers tucked all the way up to the boy’s chin. As of late Peter’s insomnia had lessened greatly and with Tony’s money, Peter did not need to work all night to the stupid masses for pennies.

“Karen?” 

“Yes, Mr.Stark?” 

“May’s out yeah?”

“Yes, Mr.Stark May will not return to the residence for another 4 hours from her shift.” Tony swallowed, he was happy that Peter was better but missed seeing and interacting with him at night, and although Peter’s insomnia was better Tony’s wasn’t. To put it frankly Tony was bored and keyed up. 

“Karen? Why don’t you increase the heat a bit?”

On-screen Tony could see Peter beginning to stir in discomfort from the heat. Tony eagerly watched the teen kick off the covers and start to pull at his clothing. Tony sighed at the lovely scene of Peter stretched out in his bed. He wished Peter was more of an exhibitionist hell even sleeping without full pajamas would make Tony happy at this point. Tony changed the temperature up a little more in hopes that Peter would pull off more of his sleep clothes. Peter half-asleep threw his pajama bottoms off and stretched out more in bed. Tony licked his lips imagining finally touching Peter’s thighs. The hot apartment was getting too hot because it appeared Peter was waking up. Tony cursed under his breath, took a quick screenshot, and adjusted the temperature back down.

_Morning_

Tony sat at his bolted desk going over his designated Peter’s notebook. Tony propped the phone up at the corner of the desk. Currently, Peter was sitting at the kitchen table scrolling through social media. Tony’s attention was brought back to the screen when Karen informed him that Peter had an incoming call. Tony curiously watched and listened as Peter answered Natasha’s phone call.

“Peter it’s Natasha I think today we should do our first exercise.” 

Tony was irked by the call already. Tony felt it was too soon for something like this. The first session was less than 24 hours earlier.

“Ok sure, what do I do?” 

“I want you to go to the front door.”

Tony’s brow knitted together in anger. What was Natasha playing at already? Tony’s eyes followed Peter’s body as he moved to the front door. 

“Ok, I'm here.” 

“Unlock it and take a step out.”

Tony was becoming furious. Peter was clearly uncomfortable. Tony could hear Peter’s feeble voice through the speaker. 

“I don't know.”

“Peter? I know this is hard but this is the first step. I'm here with you please tell me what you're feeling.” Tony scoffed at Natasha’s words. She spent an hour with him and suddenly she knows Peter’s limits? Tony watched as his panicky boy slowly unlocked the door. Peter opened and stepped outside the apartment. Tony continued listening to Peter’s and Nat’s call.

“I'm I’m outside. I'm in the hallway.”

“Good how do you feel?” 

“I’m uncomfortable but I think I’m ok.” 

“You're doing very well Peter. This was an important first step.”

“Can I- can I go back inside?” 

Tony was astonished. Tony felt a surge of pride over his boy’s sudden progress. Tony spoke to the screen imagining speaking to Peter.

“See one step at a time, Peter. You’ll be ready to see the world by the time we meet.” 

Tony smiled at the screen as Peter sat in the living room still talking to Nat. When Nat’s question cut through Tony’s good mood. 

“Where are you in your home right now and is May there?” 

Tony knew what angle Nat was playing at. Karen’s voice broke into Peter’s and Nat’s conversation before Tony could prevent the AI from announcing its existence. Tony knew that Natasha knew he was listening and watching now.

Natasha exhaled loudly. “Really Tony?” 

“What?!” Tony yelled at the screen. Luckily Peter either didn’t hear Nat well enough or understood what she had said. Nat’s next words cut into Tony. 

“But let's switch to your laptop in your room.”

Tony angrily watched Peter move to the next room now that he switched to his laptop Tony knew he couldn’t watch nor listen to Peter’s and Nat’s conversation. 

Tony leaned back and turned the phone off. He knew what was coming. After some time the expected call came in. Tony didn’t bother checking the ID as he answered. 

“Really Tony?” Nat’s irritated voice came through.

“What?” Tony barked back.

“A starktablet. May suddenly wins a starktablet? It sounds awfully advanced by the way. I can’t believe you, Tony.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think it’s great that a down of their luck family like the Parker's won one of my amazing products. And just maybe there was a mix up over the placement of an advanced AI versus the standard AI. I can’t say because I’m and let me check this really quick. Oh, that’s right I’m in prison. So I really have nothing to do with this.”

“You are un fucking believable Tony. I can’t stop your creepy lurking when I’m on the phone but I am asking your last shred of decency to give me and Peter privacy when I’m on the phone with him.”

“Well, it looks like _the_ Black Widow has a soft spot for a certain teen boy. Do I need to worry Nat?”

“I’m disgusted Stark, more like I’m worried about your hard spot for him. I want to help him, which I think you do too. Albeit you have negative plans down the line. Look just fuck off with the rear window shit.” Nat ended the call. 

Tony held the phone with contempt over Nat’s words. “How dare she judge me. I’m the one with Peter’s best interest, I’m the one that made his life better, and I’m the one that will make sure he’s happy.”

Tony’s rage dissolved quickly as the screen shifted to the web camera view of Peter’s happy face excitedly speaking to Ned. Peter was showing all the new clothes from Tony with glee. Tony smiled at the boy’s joy. He knew he was in the right, how can anything as pure as seeing the joy of Peter’s face be bad?

Over the next few days, Tony watched Peter’s progress from the apartment’s entrance to down the hall. Tony would switch to the CCTV feed as Peter slowly made progress to further and further away from the apartment. Peter was becoming better and Tony took credit every time the boy returned to the apartment with progress. At the moment Tony beamed with pride seeing Peter excitedly tell May how far he had made it today. Tony wanted to stay and watch the two celebrate but it was time for his AA meeting. Tony reluctantly extracted himself and returned the phone to its designated hiding spot in the cell. Tony was about to leave but had second thoughts. He took a step towards his hidden liquor and chugged some down to take the edge off of the meeting. 

Tony was close to being late to the meeting, dragging his feet to take the chair at the furthest point from the counsel’s gaze. Tony was still averse to the thought of “opening up” in the group therapy. 

It reminded him of how his father would say “The only time a man should be opened to who he is; is during his autopsy.” Tony shuddered at remembering his departed shitty father. The meeting went on as it typically did. Some sad loser eagerly bemoaning their current predicament. Then a few criers, Wade’s strange stories that couldn’t be true, and lastly -“Tony? You’re up buddy tell us why you’re here this week?” Mccoy’s hopeful voice asked.

“You know what I think I’m good.”

“Tony? Come on safe space here. Open up.”

“Eh.”

Several of the other members started to encourage Tony into speaking. Thor in his massive supportive but cluelessness clapped Tony on the back. 

“Stark come on, share with the group.”

Most of the members were now full-on encouraging Tony to speak.

“Wow you know I came out here for a good time and I feel so attacked right now.”

Tony cleared his throat. “Look I don’t know what to say. I was born, I’m currently alive and I'm in this shitty place and then one day to a sad planet I will depart to the abyss.”

“Tony, please. There’s no shame here. Remember everything happens for a reason.”

“Sometimes that reason is you’re stupid and make bad choices.” Wade jested.

“I worship the ground that will be your destitute grave.”

“Oooooooh how Victorian Stark. You get that line from some long-dead family member that you’ve dishonored with your shit choices?”

“Enough both of you. Tony enough. I am asking you no pleading. No jokes, no deflection, no dismissing just plain honestly from you. Can you do that for even a minute?” 

Tony was at a loss of words. “You’re really tieing my hands on this doc.”

Mccoy in a seldom seen before rage calls out. “Okay, I can’t handle this anymore today. 

I’m sorry guys but I’m cutting it short today.”

“Doctor, can I say something?”

Mccoy was angrily rubbing his forehead. 

“Yes, Ugly John please be quick.”

The peculiar man stared directly at Tony. “I bit the hand of God, and now he won’t feed me either.” 

Tony stared back in dismay. “What the fuck does that mean?! Why would--”

“Enough. Everyone. Please, guys just clear out” Mccoy wearily got up and walked out of the room. All the other members looked at Tony in contempt over breaking the good doctor with his attics.

Tony sat as long as he could in defiance of the others. He angrily stood up and walked out of the room and out of the hall towards his cell. How _dare everyone just judge him. Asking too much from him, demanding more and more. This is why Peter is perfect. Peter doesn’t ask for anything. He’s grateful for everything Tony provides. Peter wouldn’t judge Tony, Peter will love and accept him for who he was. Tony thought as he journeyed back to his cell._ The moment Tony entered he stepped toward his hidden liquor. Tony gulped down the contents in seconds. Tony lightheaded fell back into his cot and succumbed to a blackout.

Tony spent the next few days drinking, occasionally sending Peter money, watching Peter, and masturbating to Peter. Currently, Tony was watching Peter’s daily exercises and talking to Nat. 

“It’s significant Peter how well you’ve done so far in therapy.” 

”Thank you Ms.Natasha I -”

Tony noticed another person walking up to Peter on the stairwell. And sat up hyper-aware that Peter may be in danger. The darker hair teen moved toward Peter. 

“Karen, who the fuck is this?”

“That would be Luke Scott, he resides in 5D.”

“Why the fuck is he talking to Peter?”

Tony watched the screen. This little shit was talking too friendly to Peter. And to add insult to injury as the brat walked away he touched Peter’s arm. 

“You fucking asshole don’t you touch him,” Tony growled at the screen. He wanted to tear that hand off. Tony angled the camera to get a better look at Peter’s face expecting Peter to be upset over some disgusting deviant touching him. Instead, Peter looked _happy._ Tony followed Peter to and into the apartment. Tony switched to Karen’s camera to watch Peter and May’s conversation.

“Who’d you meet?” And Peter blushed. He blushed over some fucking kid. 

“Another teen. He said his name was Luke.”

“Oh, I met him. He’s cute.” 

“Yes I mean no I mean I need to face talk to Ms.Natasha.” Tony was boiling with anger. As he watched his Peter walk to his room to call Nat. Tony felt a stab of pain at Peter’s words

“Karen! I want ALL information on the little shit that lives above Peter.” 

“Yes, Mr.Stark I’ll compile a file.” Tony was becoming angrier as he attempted to calm himself down.

“Okay okay. He’s just some kid I'm overreacting. It’s not even cheating because I haven't met him yet and it's nothing. It’s _nothing.”_ Tony paced in the cell, growing more and more agitated. His phone buzzed. Tony unlocked the phone to see several text messages from Nat. 

**“I figured you were lurking and heard the good news! Peter made some excellent progress today and met a nice boy. What a great start to the school year for a 16-year-old than meeting someone. Someone other than you that is. :)”**

Tony snarled at the phone. He wanted to smash the phone to bits but the last of his will prevented him from doing that. Instead, he grabbed his liquor and drowned down a good amount. Falling back to the cot angry. He chucked the empty container across the cell and closed his eyes.

_“Happy fifth year anniversary.” Peter clicked his champagne glass against Tony’s._

_“And to many more.” Tony bent down to kiss Peter’s lips._

_“You better give me all the rest of your years Tony.” Peter smiled into the kiss._

_“Happily.” Peter and Tony were lounging on the living room floor of the massive shared penthouse. On the coffee table laid out a spread of their anniversary dinner of a charcuterie that they took turns feeding each other and kissing._

_“Peter?”_

_“Hmmm?” Peter hummed into Tony’s neck._

_“I have something to ask you. And I hope you say yes.”_

_Peter sighed “It’s not your birthday I’m not letting you spank me.”_

_“Oh? So that's what that takes? But no I have this.” Tony took out a black velvet ring box, opening it to Peter._

_“Oh Tony, it's lovely.”_

_The engagement ring was a gold band with several red diamonds embedded. A dark blue streak cut through the middle and covered the interior of the band. Peter delicately removed the ring and examined the band._

_“Tony, what's this blue?”_

_“Vibranium.”_

_“Tony! That's so expensive I can't believe it.”_

_“It's nothing compared to what you're worth. Read the interior, I had it engraved.” Peter turned the ring over in his hand searching the light gold engraving on the blue and read aloud._

“ **Proof That Tony Stark Has a Heart**.” 

_“Oh, Tony, that's beautiful.”_

_“Is that a yes?”_

_“Of course it's a yes.”_

_Peter threw his arms around Tony’s neck and the enthusiastic force brought Tony flat on the floor. Both laughing with joy._

_“Put it on me.” Peter shoved his left hand in Tony's face._

_“If I had known you’d act like this I would have proposed a lot sooner.”_

_“Tony you've could've given me a ring pop on our third date and I would've said yes."_

_"Is that right?”_

_“Tony, I've loved you since almost the instant we met. You saved me from that awful life I was living.”_

_“Oh, I don't think I did that much.”_

_“But you did. I was so alone and sad in that tiny apartment. Only May and Ned for company. And then you appeared out of thin air on that stairwell and rescued me.”_

_“All I did was help a very cute boy.” Tony leans over to kiss Peter’s nose._

_Peter wrinkled his nose._

_“No Tony, that guy in my building was harassing me. I was so terrified and then like a hero you swooped in and saved me._ I am so lucky you were looking at buying my building that day. _And ever since you’ve been saving me.”_

_Peter became teary-eyed at the memory. Tony gently wiped the shed tears from Peter’s eyes._

_“And I’ll always be here to save you.”_

_“Oh, Tony.”_

_Peter brought his face to Tony smothering him in a kiss. Peter moaned as Tony deepened the kiss, devouring Peter’s mouth. Tony began to unbutton Peter’s shirt, carefully not breaking the kiss._

_Peter helped to remove the shirt while also tearing at Tony’s buttoned up._

_Tony brought his hands to caress the boy’s ribs. As Peter moaned into the kiss. Tony brought his fingers to the boy’s nipples and twisted. Peter broke the kiss to cry out. A deep flush covered him as Tony darkly chuckled into the boy’s neck._

_“I’ll never stop loving how easy it is to rile you up.”_

_“Tony please.” Peter covered his face in embarrassment._

_“Tony please what?”_

_Tony pinched harder as Peter moaned louder. “Please, don't stop.” The younger man panted into Tony's neck as he shifted his hips in the older man’s lap trying to find some stimulation. Tony brought his hand down and unbuttoned and unzipped Peter’s slacks. His fingers grazed into Peter’s underwear and stopped._

_“What's this Peter?”_

_Tony leaned back to look at what did not feel like Peter’s usual cotton boxers but instead felt lacy. Tony beamed up at Peter's scarlet face._

_“It is our anniversary. I just thought that you would, I don't know I thought.” Peter stumbled over his words growing redded by the second._

_“Baby? I love it.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Hmmmm it's the best anniversary gift.” Tony pulled the slacks off, revealing baby pink lace panties lovingly covering Peter’s straining cock and barely contained his supple cute ass._

_Tony made an appreciated sound as he admired the fabric. Gripping the younger man’s thighs. “I want to watch you finger yourself open for me.” Peter smiled down at Tony and started to push the knickers off but Tony’s hands stilled him._

_“Keep these on.”_

_Peter blushed harder. “I can but I really won’t need to open myself up.”_

_“Oh, another surprise?” Peter weakly nodded and turned around slowly pulling the fabric down till the fabric revealed a heart-shaped metal base from Peter’s hole. Tony whistled. “Did I die? Is this my reward for a life well-lived?” Tony’s hands went up to Peter’s cheeks pushing them apart to get a better look at the plug._

_“Tony.” Peter’s oh so pretty full blush spread to all of him._

_“Hmmm, I know this isn't heaven because if it were there would be two of you for me to play with.” Tony gingerly pulled at the base of the plug pulling it out enough for Peter to feel his hole stretched around it. Peter mewled at the stretch. Tony’s cock twitched at Peter’s sounds._

_“Tony Tony, please stop teasing me.” Peter panted as Tony twisted the plug more. Peter whimpered as Tony finally pulled the plug out completely. Peter’s hands went to his straining cock when a sudden slap to his ass stopped him._

_“No. No touching. Now move those pretty hands back here and hold yourself open for me.”_

_Peter flustered and twitchy reluctantly brought his hands back as Tony grasps his wrists and placed them over his cheeks making the younger man spread himself openly as he blushed furiously._

_“Good boy Peter.” Tony better examined the stretched hole and reached under the couch for one of the many hidden bottles of lube kept around the penthouse. After liberally coating his fingers. Tony began fingering the loosen hole coating the insides more with lube._

_Peter squirmed from the sensation._

_“Tony please please please please just fuck me already.”_

_Tony chuckled. “How can daddy refuse when you beg like that? Turn around I want you to face me as you ride me.”_

_As Peter meekly turned around to face Tony, Tony unzipped his pants and lifted his hips enough to slide his pants and underwear down to bring out his hard cock. Tony grasped his cock and coated it with more lube. Peter mewled weakly as Tony rubbed his cockhead against Peter’s hole._

_Tony’s cock breached into the younger man, Peter huffed at the intrusion. “Ugh, Peter you're still so tight.”_

_Tony hissed as his hands on Peter’s hips brought him all the way down onto Tony’s cock. Peter had his eyes closed, panting at the overwhelming sensations. Peter began to maneuver his hips up and down on Tony’s cock with Tony thrusting up into Peter matching his energy._

_Peter gasped as Tony’s cock hit Peter’s prostate dead on. Peter sobbed as his untouched dick spurted cum unto Tony’s chest. Tony took his cue and began furiously fucking into him chasing his own release. Tony released into Peter’s tight heat spilling cum into him. At that, Peter fell forward onto Tony’s chest gasping for air as Tony held a bruising pressure on his hips. Both men panted into each other. Tony brought his arms up and held the boy close to his chest burying his face into Peter’s hair. Kissing his sweaty forehead. Peter with half-lidded eyes weakly reached up and kissed Tony’s cheek and settled back down to lay on his chest. “I Love you, Tony.”_

Tony’s hand stilled on his softening cock. Tony tucked himself back into his pants and didn't bother cleaning up. He simply rolled over and went back to sleep with the determination that the fantasy would be a reality sooner than later. 

_Next day_

Tony was so happy he skipped high school and went to college instead. Because if he had to experience what Peter was experiencing he would have drunk himself dead as a freshman. Tony yawned watching Peter write notes for another boring as fuck class. Tony looked at the time at least the first day was ending soon then Tony can leave to find Weasel and buy more liquor. A message from Ned showed up on Peter’s screen.

**TheGuyintheChair: Hey I think I have something that you’ll like. Can you be online today around 3:45?**

**Parker’sLuck01: Yeah I can but what are you planning?**

**TheGuyintheChair: You’ll see :)**

Tony was annoyed that the other teen was trying to surprise Peter. Tony didn't like the idea of anyone trying to surprise Peter other than him of course. His surprises for Peter were great and helped the boy. Anyone else? 

Nope. Tony shifted anxiously. He saw Peter was walking around the apartment waiting for Ned’s “surprise”. Tony figured if he hurried he could go get a top off and come back before this “surprise.”

Tony placed the phone back in the hiding spot and briskly walked towards the library where Weasel hanged out and sold his wares.

Tony quickly found Weasel lurking the aisles of the library. 

“Hey, Stark cruising for dick?”

“No, I just found an asshole.” 

“So witty and smart for a guy that I'm guessing wants something from me?”

“I need a top off, my usual order.”

“That's pretty quick even for you. Something going on Stark?”

“Yeah I'm celebrating being 20 minutes sober now can you help me or not?”

“Touchy touchy. Fine, come over here.”

Weasel led Tony to a discrete aisle where Weasel looked around for anyone watching. He pulled a few books from the wall and reached into a hole after a few moments of moving around he brought out a glass container of liquor. 

“Here we go, now don't go using it all at once be sure to share it with all your many friends.”

Tony snatched the container from Weasel’s hands and tucked it in his uniform.

“Hey! Payment now.”

Tony reached into his pocket and threw crumpled bills at Weasle. 

“Hey, dick!” Weasel bent down to retrieve the money as Tony turned to walk away Weasel called out. 

“Hey, asshole no one will be there for your nervous breakdown.”

Tony briskly walked off growing irritated. Wade passed him as he left the corridor.

“Hey, Stark real nice going in AA there.”

“Fuck you, Wilson.”

“Fuck me yourself, coward,” Wade yelled back to a now furious Tony.

He was ready to crack open the liquor and see what stupid surprise Ned has for Peter. 

Tony walked into the cell and grabbed his phone and set it up on the bolted desk.

As he took the liquor bottle out he looked at the screen and found Peter, not in the apartment. Panic overcame him quickly. 

“What the fuck? Karen, where's Peter?”

“Peter is currently on the third stairwell talking to Luke.”

“Fucking creepy little shit, switch to that camera now.”

The screen switched to the two teens talking. Tony listened to the creep talking to his sweet Peter.

“Ugh boring. Couldn't wait to get out of there. I'm just looking forward to hockey practice you know?”

“Yeah I mean I've never done sports clubs.” 

Luke grabbed Peter’s wrist. Tony stood up in anger. 

“What the fuck are you doing asshole?! Get off of him!”

Tony was enraged. He couldn't hear the conversation with blood pounding in his ears. Luckily the little shit brat unhanded his boy. Tony was still angry that this brat got to walk Peter to his apartment.

He calmed down as Peter and this _Luke_ departed. And switched the cameras as Peter entered back into the apartment and back to his desk. 

Tony cracked open the bottle and took a swing of the contents.

When he looked back at the screen he saw a confused Peter looking at a group of confused teens.

“What the fuck is this Ned?” Tony yelled at the screen.

Ned’s voice came in. 

“This is The Midtown Academic Decathlon! And you're joining.”

Tony was stunned, to say the least. How the fuck does a kid who can’t leave his apartment building join a club?

But the team captain seemed to think it was doable. Tony watched as the other members welcomed Peter. 

Then he heard “This is stupid” Tony brows knitted in anger. Some dick member was trying to say Peter would cheat. Peter was a pure heart angel he couldn't cheat. Fuck this guy.

Tony heard another member call the criticizer “Flash” Tony reached over to his notebook and wrote the name down just in case.

“Um, guys? I can just hold my hands up? So I can't type?”

Tony smiled at how adorable Peter can be. Of course, he wouldn't cheat and of course, he'd find a solution to the problem before anyone else. 

Tony watched and lazily drank as Peter answered the various questions the club threw at him. He felt a sense of pride at how intelligent Peter is. The club drew to a close and the member sans this asshole “Flash” said their happy goodbyes to Peter. Peter looks so happy Tony noticed. And Tony felt a surge of pain in his chest. A pain that he didn't understand. 

Tony screenshotted Peter’s happy face for his collection.

At the end of the week, Tony was bored watching Peter who was taking notes in his calculus class. Tony was honestly nodding off as the teacher called for a break. Tony was startled awake when Ned’s panicked voice pierced through.

“Hey! What happened to my laptop!?”

Tony was wide awake looking at how Ned’s camera was now only showing a black screen. Tony quickly noticed an upset Peter. 

Someone in the class had fucked with Ned’s camera. The same camera that Peter used to participate in class. Tony was growing angry that some fucking brat would bully his boy like this. 

And of course, it was - “I saw Flash walking over and doing something to Ned’s computer Mr.Allen.”

Fucking Flash Thompson.

Does this jealous little shit think he can bully his boy? Oh fucking no way in Hell will Tony stand for this. Tony dialed Happy.

“Happy.” Tony barked as soon as he answered.

“Yes, Mr.Stark?”

“I recall a scary looking guy spoke only in growls that would do security on the building. It was something cartoonish like Nucky or Butch or something?”

“You mean Bucky Barns?”

“Yeah, I need his contact info pronto.”

“Uh yes, Mr.Stark I’ll email you his information. He still does security for us.”

“Thank you Happy, you've made me happy.”

Tony waited a minute for Happy’s email to arrive. Tony dialed the phone number provided. A gruff voice answered.

“Who's this?”

“Mr.Barns I presume? Can I trust you’re the type of man to do awful things for money?”

“I’m listening.”

Tony gave his detailed instructions and they negotiated money.

Tony hung up and smiled. He may not be in Peter’s life yet but he sure as fuck will protect him better than anyone from prison. Tony unlocked his phone to Karen immediately asking him 

“Mr. Stark? Peter needs your help.” 

“What?! What happened, what's wrong?”

“Peter’s overwhelmed by his calculus work, I figured with your degrees in mathematics that you could be of assistance. Can I connect the call now?”

“Uh no not yet. Wait he won't see me yeah?”

“No, I'll only connect your voice and you’ll be able to see him through my camera.”

“Okay okay give me a second I need a second.”

The call was patch through. 

“Not a literal second!” Tony anxiously checked his appearance even though his boy won't be able to see him.

The screen showed a curious Peter looking directly at the camera.

“Uh hey.” 

Fuck this is bad. Why did he let Karen do this?

“Hello? I’m Peter. Karen said you can help me with my calculus exam?” 

“Eh yeah, I can help kid.” 

“Are you sure sir? I don't want to bother you.” Peter’s sweet concerned voice pulled at Tony. He gathered himself quickly.

“Sorry kid I was just taken aback with the sudden message from Karen. I'm happy to help you.”

Peter’s face broke out in a smile to Tony’s words. Tony knew he needed to get out soon by any means necessary seeing Peter smile at him like that.

Tony happily helped Peter through his exam notes. When it appeared he was no longer needed Tony was reluctant to sign off with the teen. 

“So Kid, I'm happy to help you know.”

“Yes, Mr.Anthony thank you so much for helping me. Is there anything I can do for you?”

Tony bit his lip. Oh, the things Tony wanted to tell Peter how he could repay him.

“N-No Kid you helped _me_. I was pretty bored here at my desk. So whenever you need help just call and I’ll be happy to help. Okay?”

“Sure thing Mr.Anthony!”

Oh God, Peter’s face was so precious and cute.

“Okay kid I'm going now.”

He had to leave before he said something stupid.

“Bye Mr.Anthony.”

Tony reluctantly ended the call. He sat and sighed into himself. And unlocked his phone. And placed a phone call to his lawyer. 


	8. Little by little one travels far (Peter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bring you a nearly 12k word chapter.

“The limit will diverge into the value. Cancel the X minus two and then find the limit to find X.”

Peter nodded as he wrote notes. Anthony turned out to be a great teacher albeit he still had this odd reluctance to his voice that Peter noticed.

“And that looks like that’s the end of the notes Karen’s given me. Any other questions kid?”

“No, this is great!”

“So Kid, I'm happy to help you know.”

Peter nodded gratefully to all the help the disembodied voice gave.

“Yes, Mr.Anthony thank you so much for helping me. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“N-No Kid you helped _me_. I was pretty bored here at my desk. So whenever you need help just call and I’ll be happy to help. Okay?”

“Sure thing Mr.Anthony!”.

“Okay kid I'm going now.”

“Bye Mr.Anthony.” Peter waved at the screen as the call ended. Peter leaned back happy that the problems were resolved. 

“Karen, how do you know Mr. Anthony?”

“He was someone that helped develop me.”

“Really? You can just contact someone like that?”

“He did tell me to contact if you needed help and “ the AI was cut off by a knock at the door. 

“Hold on Karen.” Peter walked over and unlocked the door to Luke anxiously waiting outside.

“Um Hi, Peter. I didn’t see you come in when I was walking in from school and uh wanted to say hi. So uh Hi.” The teen weakly waved his hand.

“Yeah, I was already home.”

“How? School just got out and my school’s closer than yours. Did you skip? Can I come in by the way?”

Peter nodded and opened the door wide. Luke strolled in and looked at Peter.

“I can't imagine you would be the type to skip so are you sick?”

“No, I.” Peter spoke reluctantly “I attend online schooling.”

“Really? Why's that?”

“Because I can’t leave the apartment. I haven’t in a year.”

“Oh, uh wow I saw you on the stairwell?”

Peter nodded. “Um yes, that’s part of my daily therapy. I’ve been making progress but I’ve only made it to the apartment entrance.”

Peter drew into himself. And fidgeted in place. He looked at his feet afraid to look at Luke.

“Well hey, that’s progress!”

Peter looked up at Luke shrugging his shoulders.

“You’re not gonna ask me why, how, what anything?”

“Well, I figured if you want to tell me you’d tell me. But it’s cool. I can wait to hear the story. I won’t judge when and if you tell me by the way.”

“Why not?”

Luke blushed furiously.

“Well uh I like you and I just figure it would be cool to you know hang out?”

Peter was shocked, and happy. “Yeah, I think I’d like to hang out too. You seem cool after all.” 

Luke blushed more. 

“Well good, you know you still haven’t given me a tour of this place. Come on, show me around.”

“Okay here’s the grand entrance.” 

“Very nice.”

“And here’s the kitchen.”

“Yes, where only the finest meals are prepared I’m certain.”

Peter laughed leading the teen to the two bedrooms.

“And that’s my aunt’s bedroom and this is mine. It's just a standard two bedroom apartment.”

“You know I think it’s up to you how many bedrooms you have. It’s like who says my bedroom can't be in the kitchen?”

Peter started laughing. 

“What? What are you saying?” 

“I’m just saying no one tells me how many bedrooms I have.”

Peter chuckled.

“Hey, I’m still free till dinner, can we hang out? Where’s your aunt?”

“Yeah I’m not busy at all, I'd love to hang out. And she’s doing a day shift.”

“Cool hey, what’s that?”

The teen pointed to Peter’s lego figurine. And walked forward.  
  


“Uh that’s just lego stuff. I know it’s kid stuff but I like it and.”

“Kid stuff nothing man this is classic fun. You ever build the big stuff?”

“Yeah, me and my friend Ned built the millennium falcon recently.”

“That’s cool. Got pictures?” 

“Yeah, here I'll show you on my laptop.”

The two teens conversed together happily for several hours. They were interrupted by May’s entrance. 

“Hey, Peter I’m hommmmmme.”

“Hey May we’re back here,” Peter called back.

“Oh is Ned here? Oh hello there.”

May reached the bedroom door and saw Luke sitting on the bed with Peter.

“Hello, Ms.Parker we met before? I’m Luke.”

“Yes, I remember. Nice to see you again.”

“It’s okay he’s here right?”

“Y-yes Peter it’s great um just keep the door open okay?”

“Uh sure May.”

May made a jerky exit as she gently pushed the bedroom door all the way open.

Luke looked confusedly at Peter. 

“She okay? She was pretty friendly the first time we met.”

“Yeah, I think it’s because she’s tired. She did just got off a long shift.”

“Well it’s close to dinner. I have to go but you cool with me coming over more?”

Peter enthusiastically nodded “Yeah that would be great. Want my phone number?”

“Yes! I mean yeah cool I- I’d like that.”

The two boys traded phones and put in their contact information. 

Peter walked the other teen to the door and both gave the other a cheerful goodbye. Peter turned around to May. 

“Peter please sit with me for a minute.”

“Okay May. Everything alright? You’re acting kinda weird.”

“I just think you’re older and I think we should go over some things. Also Luke seems nice.”

“He’s pretty cool yeah.”

“Well when teens get together sometimes things happen and I want you to be safe. You know with him.”

“What?”

May groaned out tiredly. “Look I’m so tired right now so let’s stop dicking around.” 

May pulled a bag out and handed them to Peter. Who curiously looked inside and found several condoms and an STD prevention brochure, a sexual consent brochure, and how to have safe sex in the LGBTQAI community brochure. Peter was flabbergasted and quickly closed the bag.

“May!”

“Peter please don’t be embarrassed, it's a normal thing, and I rather you have this and not need them than the other way round. Okay, that’s all the best parent I can be after a 12-hour shift. I’m going to nap and have a late dinner with you and talk more about this. Please read the brochures sweetie and remember you can always ask me anything.”

May tiredly walked to her bedroom. Peter, still very embarrassed, reopened the bag and examined the brochures. Peter flipped through them blushing the entire time. 

Peter went back to his room to read through the information. Eventually, he stopped when a text buzzed. Peter unlocked his phone and read.

**Luke - Hey great time today. I have hockey practice all day tomorrow but we can text, right?**

Peter smiled at the phone.

**Peter - I don’t know I’m pretty full up with all my plans. I have a full night. I’m going to Vegas tonight.**

**Luke - Oh really? And I’m not invited? I’m so offended. TT^TT**

Peter laughed at the screen.

**Peter - I go to Tokyo next week. You can come with me then. You’re not too terrible after all ;)**

**Luke - Sooooo looking forward to it.**

Peter smiled at the screen. The two teens texted back and forth for hours. Peter was finally brought out of the conversation when May called him for dinner.

**Peter - Hey sorry we’re having a late dinner ttyt?**

**Luke - Look forward to it :)**

**Peter - :)**

Peter happily walked into the kitchen. 

“Well, you look happy since I last saw you. Something happened?”

Peter sat at the table and quickly took a slice of pizza from the box.

“Uh yeah, I’ve been talking to Luke for a while now.”

May stared down at Peter.

“Peter did you by chance look at what I gave you?”

“Ugh yes.” Peter started stuffing his face to avoid talking anymore.

“Well okay then. Good.”

“Yes.”

Some time went by in pleasant silence. Peter thought he had escaped any more embarrassing talking when suddenly. 

“And I want you to know if he hurts you - no police. _I’ll_ take him out.”

“What? No May.”

May’s laughter filled the room as Peter's embarrassed face grew scarlet.

_The next day_

Peter idly was sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch as he texted Luke. Abruptly Ned’s text popped up saying he was at the front door. Peter reluctantly went to the door to let his friend in. 

“Hey, I am so sorry that Flash did that. I wouldn't have left the room without my laptop if I knew.” 

“Hey it's good, I mean it sucks but we can probably fix the camera today.” 

Ned set up his laptop on Peter’s desk. 

“I'm still sorry. You understood the exam notes?”

“Actually I needed help but Karen connected me to a tutor and he explained everything perfectly.”

“Fuck, you’re so lucky to win something like that. What else is going on you seem pretty happy.”

Peter stopped examining the damaged laptop camera.

“Well, I’ve been talking to someone.”

“Oh yeah? Like online?”

“No like a guy here in the complex.”

“Ooooooooo, like a cute guy?”

“He’s nice, he’s our age.”

“That's not a “no”. But that’s cool man, how's therapy going?”

Peter nodded. “Really well, it's been easier leaving the apartment. I still haven't really moved past the entrance door but Ms.Natasha thinks that I've made good progress.”

Ned nodded smiling. 

“Actually about that getting out of the apartment thing is really a segway into what I wanted to talk to you about your birthday.”

Peter flinched. “I’m really sorry that I can't make it to the Star wars gallery thing.”

“Hey don’t worry I’ve been talking to May and ”

“I really hate sometimes how you two text each other.” 

“We both love cat memes and we’ve been planning your birthday. It’s going to be great!”

“What are you two planning?”

“You'll see, but trust me it’ll be the best birthday you've ever had.”

“Okay, I’ll take your word for it. And I think I've got this working again.”

Peter rebooted the laptop testing on his own if the camera worked. 

“Hey, you fixed it! Hey, what's that?” Ned pointed at Peter’s laptop where a window on the screen was opened showing who had access to the web camera. 

“I never noticed that.” 

“It says “AES” has access to it? What's up with that?”

“I think that's just Karen.”

“I don't know you might have some creeper watching you or something.”

Peter scoffed. “No one would stalk me, what so they can watch me be boring?”

“I don't know man, it's just creeping me out. Come on let’s ask Karen.”

The boys went into the living room.

“Hey, Karen do you have access to my web camera?”

“Yes, Peter I do. I've synced to all your devices and only me and the original admin has access.”

“See it’s just Karen. Karen’s not stalking or being creepy.”

“What does that mean by “original admin”? Who’s ” 

A knock on the door stopped their conversation. Peter walked over and opened it. Luke was standing there smiling. 

“Hey, practice ended early and I wanted to ask you something in person. Can I come in?”

Peter opened the door wide allowing the other teen in. Ned waved his hand. 

“Hey, there I’m Ned Peter’s best friend forever.” 

“Yeah he told me, I'm Luke Peter’s newest friend.”

“Well, I should go. Thanks for fixing my camera!”

Peter followed Ned just outside the door. 

“Where are you going I thought after we fix the camera we’d hang out more.” 

“Dude I am being the best wingman I can and getting out of the way. That guy is clearly into you and clearly wants to ask you something so bye. Have fun.” 

Peter blushed at Ned’s words. And apprehensively walked back into the apartment. 

“Sorry I had one last thing to uh say to Ned. You wanted to ask me something?”

The other teen started to anxiously fidget. 

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you to the movies? I mean to the movies here like we can watch a movie here and it would be fun?”

Peter was surprised that someone other than Ned would want to hang out with him.

“Y-yeah that sounds fun I can make popcorn?”

“Yes that’s um great, so Monday night? After dinner for me, so like 7?”

Peter nodded, May would be gone at her night shift by 6:30.

“I’ll have to ask May but yeah. Watching movies that's fun, great even. Me and Ned do it all the time so she won't say no.”

Luke beamed. “Yeah great! Any movie requests? “

“How about you pick? I'm sure I’ll enjoy it.”

“Yeah, I do. I know what’ll be good to watch.”

A loud buzzing sound was heard. Luke apologetically reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out. “Sorry I have to go, I promised I’d pick up groceries after practice.”

Peter led the teen to the door. “Why’d you come staright here after then?”

The other teen grew scarlet. “I uh I wanted to see you and ask about the movie thing.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, I’ll text you later.” Luke grabbed Peter’s hand and squeezed. “I like seeing you. Bye.” The teen made a fast escape out the door and down the stairs. Peter was stunned and overjoyed. This was the best day in over a year.

_Later during dinner_

“Hey May I wanted to ask you something?”

“Hmmm?”

“Is it alright that I have a friend over on Monday to watch a movie?”

“Oh, sure honey you know Ned’s always welcomed.”

“Uh no I wanted to invite the neighbor Luke?”

“Well, I guess it's fine if you two watch a movie after school.”

“Uh no, he was going to come over at 7 and then just watch a movie and go home.”

“Peter? I work at 6:30 so you two would be alone?”

“I'm responsible, I mean don't you trust me? I'm asking even, I could have not said anything and you wouldn't have known.”

“OH is that right? I guess I'm not the parent in this situation.”

“I mean I'm sorry May I just think it would be best for my mental health to have more interactions with kids my age.”

“Peter that is some devious bullshit I don't like the idea of you being alone at fifteen with another boy.”

“I'll be sixteen in six days!”

“Still things can happen. Bad things. I trust you but I don't trust him, Peter I mean.”

“If I may say something?” Karen interjected.

“Yes?” May sharply asked.

“I can observe the movie watching. Also, I can report any unwanted behavior to your phone May.”

“Is that right?” 

“I have a baby monitor protocol to ensure safety and to be watchful.”

“See? Karen can chaperone, now can Luke come over?”

“Only and only if you keep Karen on the coffee table and I will be randomly checking in.”

“Thanks, May!”

_Later that night_

**Peter - We’re good on Monday night**

**Luke - Great! Can’t wait. Are you free to text now?**

Peter smiled at the phone when a ping startled him. A window popped up on his laptop.

**AskJarvis46: I have very extensive IT issues. I'll need your undivided attention for hours. But I’ll pay extra.**

Peter looked at the laptop and then at his phone.

**Parker’sTechHelp: I am so sorry but I have a family emergency. I won’t be available for IT support tonight.**

Peter closed his laptop and fell back into his bed smiling at the phone screen.

**Peter - Yep I can text all night.**

_Next morning_

**Luke - Hey I have to go to church soon but I can swing by before and do your morning exposure therapy practice thing?**

**Peter - You want to walk me up and down the stairwells?**

**Luke - Yeah sounds rad. I can be down in a sec. Soooooooooo?**

**Peter - you know what? Yeah I’d like that.**

“May I’m going to go do my exposure therapy!” 

“Sure be safe, stay calm.”

Peter opened the front door just as the other teen leaped down the stairwell.

Slightly out of breath the teen said 

“Ready for your escort down?”

Peter snorted in laughter. “Yeah, let’s go.”

“So ready to walk to Florida? I heard the Harry Potter world is really cool.”

“Today no, but ask me again in two weeks.”

“Ooooooo really two weeks? Gotta get my costume ready by then.”

The two teens fell into easy conversation as they walked to the entrance and back up. As they made their way up to Peter’s floor. 

“Hey, you do tech support stuff right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“What is a computer’s favorite animal?”

“What?”

“A RAM.”

Peter paused and looked at Luke. And then started laughing “Oh! That’s so corny!”

“Hey, that’s a grade-A joke I have you know! And I know way more like. Hey who's that?”

Peter looked at where Luke was pointing to the Parker’s front door. Where a teen was standing pleading to May. 

“Look I have to give this to him in person it's important!”

“Um hello?”

The teen standing in front of May recoiled at Peter’s voice. Turning around Peter noticed the teen had a black eye and his left arm in a sling. Peter recognized him immediately.

“Hey, you’re Flash right?”

Flash twitched.“Y-yes here. Flash pushed a white envelope into Peter’s hand. “I am very very sorry for everything I did, please forgive me.”

Flash quickly walked around the two other teens and hastily ran down the stairs.

“What’s that about?” May asked. 

Peter with brows knitted brought the envelope up to examine. A loud voice called from the stairs leading to the next floor. 

“Luke come on we’re late for mass!” Luke grimaced. 

“Hey sorry, Peter I got to go. I’ll text you later, can’t wait for our date. Bye Ms.Parker.”

Peter and May walked back into the apartment. May leaned over Peter to look at the envelope. 

“He showed up not long after you left. He was adamant that he had to give you this in person. Who is that Peter?”

“He’s Flash. He’s in my class and the Academic Decathlon team but last I saw him he wasn’t banged up like that.” Peter opened the envelope taking the letter out with May reading above him.

_Dear Peter Parker_

_I deeply apologize for my appalling behavior towards you. I acted unkindly and disgustingly. I did it out of jealousy and pettiness. I hope to eventually garner your forgiveness for my behavior and strive to change for the better._

_Please forgive me, Flash Thompson._

“Huh. Peter, what did this kid do to you?”

“He was just kinda mean to me and I think he may have messed with Ned’s laptop camera.”

“What? That little shit.”

“Yeah, I guess the school made him apologize. I still don’t know why he’s all beat up like that.”

“Maybe someone put the fear of God into him for being an asshole.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Peter couldn’t help noticing how strange the handwriting looked. Like it was written in distress. Peter shrugged and walked back to his room “Still I’ll ask him if he’s okay at the club meeting.”

“That’s because you’re a good kid!” 

Peter sat at his desk confusedly looking and re-reading the letter. He pulled out his phone and dialed Ms.Natasha.

“Hello, Peter I was getting worried. Did you do your morning exercises yet?”

“Yeah I hope you don’t mind, I was able to do it without calling you.”

“It’s more than fine, it’s great actually but you sound a little off? Everything okay?”

“Yeah the exercise went great. Luke, I told you he’s my neighbor he walked with me during. But it’s so strange when we got back a guy from my class was at the door.”

“Yes?”

“It was Flash. He’s this guy that I think messed with Ned’s laptop camera. He came by to give me an apology letter.”

“That sounds really nice but you still sound unsure what else happened?”

“It’s just bothering me because Flash was all beat up looking and his note it's not like “I’m sorry” it’s like his life was on the line or something. I don’t know it’s just bothering me.”

Natasha was silent for so long Peter became worried. 

“Ms. Natasha? Are you still there?”

“Yes Peter I’m sorry I was just thinking some things over and I realized I needed to call another patient right after you. I think my other patient has been extremely misbehaving and regressed into a petty dysfunctional man child.”

“Oh, I’m sorry Ms.Natasha that you have a patient like that.”

“Don’t worry about him, Peter. In fact, I don’t think you’ll meet someone like that ever. I’m just going to make sure he knows his actions have consequences _after_ we’re done here that is. So let’s just talk a little more and I’ll let you enjoy the rest of your day. You mention Luke again, things going well with him?”

“Yeah, actually he’s coming over tomorrow to watch a movie. I’m pretty excited about it.”

“I think that’s wonderful Peter. I hope you two have the best time.”

“Yeah, I’m kinda embarrassed that we have like a baby monitor thing but it's better than nothing right?”

“Yes, Peter it could be worse. You could have a creepy man obsessed with you and stalking your every move.”

“Oh God, that would be the worst!”

“Yeah, it would be wouldn’t it?”

_Next day_

Peter beamed at the screen. Thanks to the calculus help from Anthony his exam was going well. He was making quick work at all the problems. He double-checked his answers and pressed the “finished Exam” button on the corner of the screen. The portal changed and allowed him to see his grade. He scanned the green check marks along the question numbers. His eyes fell to the finished grade of **97.5.** He grinned from ear to ear over the score. A message from his teacher popped up in the corner. 

“Good work on the exam. I'm glad that nonsense from last week didn't deter you.”

Peter wanted to celebrate with someone. He looked over at the clock. May was still asleep for her night shift, Ned wouldn't be out of the exam till the class ended, Luke was in gym class and wouldn't have his cell phone. He could call Ms.Natasha but he didn't want to sound needy, well needier than he is. Peter pouted walking around the apartment. Trying to think who he could tell now.

“Peter? Is something wrong? You're looking very sullen?”

Peter jerked up. 

“Karen!” Peter beamed at the tablet. Yes, it wasn't a _person_ but Karen still counted. 

“Karen I did well on my exam!” Peter excitedly spoke to the tablet. 

“That's great peter! I'm so happy for you.” 

Peter breathed out. 

“I just wished I could tell someone, I mean you are great Karen but I wish I could tell a person.”

Karen’s screen changed immediately to a call screen.Peter looked at the screen puzzledly. 

“Karen, what are you doing?”

A sleepy man's voice punctured the air. ‘What? Who’s calling?”

Peter recognized the voice. “Mr.Anthony!”

A sudden sound of breaking glass occurred. “Shit fuck.” 

“Are you alright Mr.Anthony?”

“Yeah sorry, kid I was just taken off guard. What um why are you calling?”

“Well, I took my exam that you helped me on and I made a 97! And I wanted to tell someone but I couldn’t and Karen called you. I’m sorry I didn't know she would do that.”

“No, it's great kid I'm happy you called. Really happy, actually glad I was able to help.”

“Well thank you Mr.Anthony, I'll leave you I don't want to bother you anymore.”

“No! Wait I'm not busy at all, really nothing on the docent today so uh tell how else is your day? Any plans?”

“Well I'm on the Academic Decathlon team, we have practice today.”

“And how's that?”

“I like it, a lot of nice members, well mostly.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah one guy doesn't seem to like me and I think he bullied me last week. But it was so strange he came by yesterday and gave me an apology letter.”

“Sounds like the asshole was put into his place.”

Peter was perplexed by the statement. “What do you mean?”

“Uh, nothing kid he probably just had I don't know a come to Jesus moment or something. But that's good he apologized right?”

“Y-yeah it was just weird. He acted like, I didn't know it’s funny. He kinda acted like his life depended on giving me the apology letter.”

Mr.Anthony hummed and took a drink of something. “Funny that.”

“Yeah, it was just weird. I hope he’s at the meeting today. I want to make sure he’s okay.”

“That's because you're a really great kid Peter. What else are you planning today? Going out and about and painting the town red?”

Peter laughed. “Um, no nothing too exciting. Well, I am looking forward to one thing. I have a uh I think I have a movie date tonight.”

“Oh?” The tone was oddly aggressive to Peter’s ears.

“Y-yeah I cant wait.”

“And what's the plan? Getting lucky with a girl?”

Peter was becoming uncomfortable with Mr.Anthony’s tone, it was becoming more and more alarming.

“Oh no, it's a guy.” Peter blushed remembering the man can probably see his face using Karen’s camera. 

“Lucky guy.”

“I guess. I really like having him as a friend.”

“What's so great about him?”

“Well, he’s funny.” Peter heard a faint scoff. “And he’s really nice and he seems really understanding and I think he's cute and I just like him.”

"Well better take advantage while he's still interested because you won't keep him long not being able to leave"

“What?” A coldness spread through Peter. “What do you mean? How. How did you know I couldn't leave?”

There was a long pause of silence.

“Karen told me. She said a kid who couldn't attend school needed my help.”

“Oh. sorry, I think I need to go. Thanks again for your help.”

“Shit, yeah um kid. Call me if you need any more help okay?”

“Sure.”

Peter disconnected the call. Karen’s screen turned to black for a moment. It reflected his somber face. 

“Peter are you okay? You were very joyous before I connected the call and now you're looking very morose.”

“Ah yeah sorry Karen I don't think you should connect to Mr.Anthony again. I think I’ll just ask my teacher for help from now on.”

“Okay, Peter.”

Peter cheerlessly walked back to his computer after noticing the time. It was almost time for the Decathlon team meeting. Peter stared at the computer screen. Thinking over Mr.Antony’s hostile words. Peter could feel his eyes prickle with tears. He sat there with a growing tension when his phone buzzed. Peter looked at his phone. 

**Luke - Hey check me out!**

A picture came after of Luke in his full hockey uniform.

**Luke - The guys promised me not to bang me around too badly during practice. Don't want to show up to our date with a black eye. ;)**

Peter’s bad mood dissipated instantly. Peter smiled at the screen. 

**Peter - Actually I have a thing for scars.**

**Luke - Oh really? Well, maybe I can go a little rough in practice.**

**Peter - you know what else? I really love eye patches and peg legs.**

**Luke - I think you might have a thing for pirates.**

**Peter - Yes, by chance are we watching Pirates of the Caribbean tonight?**

**Luke - Over my dead body**

Peter laughed at the banter. A sound from his computer brought him out of the conversation. Peter looked up at an expecting Ned ready to start the Decathlon team meeting. 

**Peter - sorry got to go, see you tonight.**

**Luke - Can’t wait :)**

Peter put his phone away and gave his full attention to the laptop screen.

“You look pretty upbeat.” Peter looked towards the voice. 

“Yeah um I'm really excited for my plans I have tonight. MJ, right?”

MJ nodded. “Ned said something like that. You're really good at physics questions by the way we were all talking about our strengths as a team.”

“Yeah, I like science.” Peter noticed then the club instead of gathering into teams to practice they had formed a circle around Ned’s laptop looking at Peter.

“Hey guys shouldn't we start practice, you know going over questions?” Peter nervously spoke.

Liz cleared her throat. “Well Peter we were talking to Ned and since we don't have classes with you we thought we should spend some of today's meeting getting to know you.”

“Yeah so what do you like?” MJ asked.

“I-I like science?”

“No like, what are your hobbies?” 

“I like sci-fi? I like I don't know legos, and I like the Mets. I like 3d printing but I dont have a printer.”

“Well okay, that's something. We can go to the mall after and buy him something.” The other member Susan whispered to Liz.

“Shush!” Ned angrily hushed.

“What’s going on?”

“Oh right sorry. Nothing Peter doesn’t worry about it. You'll see it later this week.”

“Well let's get into groups!” Liz happily announced.

Peter, Ned, and Mj formed a group and went over questions.

“So you got plans tonight?” MJ questioned Peter.

“Yeah, I have a movie date.”

“You should see the guy.”

“Ned please.” Peter felt himself blush.

“That’s pretty cool, what movie are you going to watch?”

“I don't know, he’s picking.”

“And what are you going to wear?”

Peter looked and the female teen confusedly.

“Well, this?” Peter picked at his graphic tee and stood up to show his jeans.

“Really? You're going on a date and you're wearing that?”

“What should I wear?”

“Something nicer than that, grab some clothes and bring them to the camera. Me and Ned can be your wingmen.”

“What about practice?”

“It's fine Liz is busy and this is quality member bonding time. And you look like you need all the help you can get.”

Peter quickly walked over to his closet and brought out several hangers of shirts and pants.

“Yeah, no don’t wear a suit.”

“But suits are nice.”

“To a fine dinner but not to a movie date and to be honest that looks 4 sizes too small.”

“She’s not wrong Peter.”

Peter looked frantic through all his hangers holding up outfit after outfit to the pair on screen.

“Hey, that looks nice. The red fitted tee-shirt and those dark blue jeans.”

Peter held the selected clothing up to himself.

“Yeah those look good, are those your new clothes? The one May just got you?”

Peter nodded suddenly overwhelmed with everything.

“Yeah, that'll be good to wear. The guy should love it. You know red and blue look really good on you.”

“Hey guys, how's the practice going? We’re wrapping up.” Liz’s voice came through.

“Great Liz, we got nothing done.” MJ smiled at the team’s captain.

“What? Why not?”

“Team bonding, really important.” MJ smiled at Peter and winked.

Liz sighed. “Okay, guys let's end the meeting. I’ll see you guys on Friday right?”

“What's going on Friday?” Peter questioned.

“Liz! Nothing Peter, it's nothing you'll see. Okay, trust me?” Ned panicky spoke.

“Okay? Hey, where’s Flash at?”

“Oh he texted me yesterday he won't be at club meetings for the next few weeks. Something about he’s afraid of saying the wrong thing? I don't know he wasn't making much sense.”

“Good riddance.” MJ murmured under her breath. 

The members of the club one by one walked by Ned’s screen and enthusiastically said goodbye to Peter. Peter was shocked at how friendly the club had gotten towards him. Lastly, Ned looked at the screen. 

“You okay? You look a little pale.”

“Yeah sorry, now that it's getting closer I guess I'm just getting more and more nervous.”

“Don’t worry about it, you got a nice outfit, brush your teeth in case and it’ll be great!”

“Brush my teeth?”

“Yeah, you know in case you guys get hot and heavy?”

Peter’s face burned at the realization of Ned’s words.At Peter’s reaction, Ned backtracked 

“Hey I’m sorry don’t worry. If you don't want that you don't have to, I'm sure you're only going to watch a movie okay?”

“Y-yeah uh yeah. Actually, May wouldn't let this almost happen. She only agreed if I had Karen have this _baby monitor_ program on.”

Ned groaned. “Aww man, that sucks! May’s using Karen for like obstruction of fun.”

Peter’s tension eased from the joking. “I've got to go Peter. Text me later okay? Good or bad I want to hear about it no matter how late it is.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, I’ll do that, don't worry.” Ned signed off. Leaving Peter to look at his nervous face at the screen. The clock showed 4:55 PM. He had two hours to get ready, eat dinner with May, and then Luke will be there. 

He had an outfit picked. That was at least one step finished. Peter nervously walked the apartment cleaning and tidying up the place. After over a half hour of cleaning he surveyed the living room. Ensuring it was fit for the date. Now covered in dust and sweat Peter showered, brushed his teeth, and got into the clothes MJ and Ned picked.

Peter examined himself in his bedroom mirror messing and fixing his hair in a nervous energy. 

Peter looked himself over, looked directly at his face and tried to smile non nervously. 

“Hey, Luke! Welcome to my place. No, he’s been here already. I can't say that. Hi, friend. No. No, no, no, no. Hi, are you a loan? Because you sure have my interest!” Peter scrubbed his face exasperated. “Why is this so hard?” 

“Peter! Come on, dinner's ready.”

Peter on uneasy legs walked into the kitchen and sat at the table.

”Well, don't you look nice?”

“I don't know, Ned and MJ picked it. Is it okay?”

“You look, great honey, very cute.”

“A baby is cute. I don't want to look cute.” Peter pouted.

“Oh, Peter” May laughed and reached over and pinched his scowled face. “You'll always be cute to me. Now eat up. I have to leave soon.” 

Peter nervously picked at his food with one eye on the wall clock. 

“Okay I am heading out, I will see you in the morning. Behave, Hal 9000 says she’s going to watch you two and I want to be able to trust you enough to be alone, okay?”

Peter fidgeted under May’s piercing warning.

“Yes May, don't worry. We’re just going to watch a movie, ok?”

“Well okay, also I did give him the shovel talk when I went by his apartment yesterday. Okay bye!”

“Wait what?! May”

Peter gawked at the apartment door. Peter exhaled deeply. “Oh God, he might not even show up now.”

Peter nervously walked the apartment. Repeating terrible pick-up lines he read online. A quiet knocking brought him back to the front door. Peter slowly opened the door to an anxious Luke. 

“Is your aunt in there?”

“No?” The other teen exhaled all his nervous energy instantly and walked inside the apartment.“Oh good. Sorry about that. She un kinda cornered me when I was taking out the trash and honestly I never thought I would be terrified of a woman that I outweigh by so much.”

Peter winced in sympathy and nodded.

“Yeah sorry about her she’s kinda overprotective of me.”

“Eh, you're worth it. And look.” The teen held up a DVD. “Movie time.”

“The princess bride? That's like a really old movie right?”

“Yep but it’s good, believe me, it's got it all.”

“Okay, let me put it in.”

The two teens sat comfortably side by side on the couch. Peter noticed as the film progressed the other teen minutely got closer and closer to Peter. Towards the 3/4ths of the film, the teen’s arm had reached over and held Peter’s shoulder bringing their thighs pressed together close. As the film drew to a close and Buttercup and Westley rode out into the sunset and the grandfather closing the fantasy book Peter felt his eyes water and started sniveling. 

“Peter? What's wrong? Did I do something?” The darker hair teen backed away from him to try and give him space. Peter shook his head still crying. 

“N-no sorry I don't know I cry at happy endings.” Wiping his eyes he looked up and Luke grabbed him and buried Peter’s head into his chest. Petting Peter’s hair he spoke. 

“You are just so sweet and cute.”

Peter, taken aback from the sudden motion, smiled into Luke’s chest. The older teen petted his hair with one hand and crushed Peter into him. Luke moved Peter and held his face in his hands wiping the remnants of tears on Peter’s cheeks. Luke stared intently into Peter’s long enough for Peter to become confused. 

“Luke? Wha-” Suddenly the other teen lurched forward crushing his mouth onto Peter’s. A sudden burst of apprehension hit Peter and he broke the kiss. Luke shrank back. 

“I'm sorry! I thought you would and I just uh.” Luke flustered. 

Peter stopped him and pushed forward kissing the teen. The two teens locked onto each other, clumsily kissing the other. Peter let out a soft moan and parted his lips while the other teen took the chance and deepened the kiss. Luke brought Peter’s body on top of his. Groaning into Peter’s neck as he broke the kiss to pant into Peter’s neck. His hands traveled to Peter’s ribs to his jeans. When his hands made contact with Peter’s jean’s front, Peter jolted backward.

Luke noticed and stopped. “Hey, hey. Sorry,sorry. I shouldn't have.”

“No, um you mind if we go slow? Like really slow?” Peter nervously spoke while looking away. Luke smiled. 

“Yeah slow, I love slow, slow is great. Let’s go slow.” Luke hastily spoke to a skittish Peter. “Hey?” Luke gingerly placed his hand on Peter’s shoulder bringing back his attention. “I mean it. We can go as slow as you like. No rush.” Peter could feel the earnestness radiate from the teen and nodded. Peter leaned forward and lightly kissed the other teen on the lips. Peter started leaning forward more to continue the kiss. After several moments of kissing one another, a voice stopped the teens completely.

“I apologize Peter but I have to interject with what's happening. If you continue I’ll have to tell May.”

“Karen,” Peter moaned “that's so un-cool of you.”

“Sorry”

Luke laughed and got up from the couch. “It’s okay, I have to go home anyway. What to walk me out? I want to show you something out in the hallway.”

The teens awkwardly walked out of the apartment and into the hall. 

“What did you want to show me?”

“Hmm? Nothing, she just can’t see us out here.”

Luke leaned down and kissed him fully and quickly deepened. Peter’s eyes closed as the kiss continued. Eventually, both broke apart breathing hard into each other. 

“I uh like you Peter. Do you like me?”

“Y-yes yeah I like you a lot. I’ll like you more if you kiss me like that again.”

Luke laughed lowly, he leaned down and gave a quick peck to Peter’s cheek.

“Always next time okay? I'll see you soon.”

Peter breathlessly nodded watching the teen walk up the stairs to his own apartment. 

After a moment of catching his breath, Peter hesitantly walked back into the apartment. 

Peter opened his cellphone as he laid in bed.

**Peter - Really good date.**

**Ned - Great! Expecting another soon?**

A new text popped up.

**Luke - Hey I had a fun time tonight. I’m free on Wednesday afternoon. If you want I can come over :)**

Peter smiled at the screen. And typed.

**Peter - I'm free, can't wait.**

_Next day_

Peter sat in front of his computer staring at the therapy portal in a nervous energy. He was restless to speak to Dr. Romanov. As the window opened to Natasha’s face Peter leaped up. “Ms.Natasha!”

“Whoa, Peter something happened?”

“Yes well no I just I have so much to tell you and I waited till now.”

“Alright let's get to it then. Start wherever you like.”

“Well first off I got a good grade on my Calculus exam yesterday.”

“That's great Peter, hard work is rewarding. Did you study a lot for it?”

“Well yeah I did study but actually someone helped me. I was having trouble with the exam notes and Karen connected to some math expert who really helped.”

“Oh? Did you perhaps get a name?”

“Yeah, he said his name was Anthony. But I don't want to talk to him again.”

“And why’s that?”

“He helped a lot and I was thankful for his help. So Karen called him so I could tell him the good news. But he was weird. He said some hurtful things. I don't know, I told Karen to not call him again but maybe I overreacted?”

“No. No, Peter don't contact someone like him again. You don't owe someone like him anything. Please don't feel guilty over having boundaries.”

“Okay. I mean that part of yesterday sucked but then I went to my Decathlon club and that was great. The meeting started with everyone wanting to get to know me and then we broke into groups. This girl her name’s MJ. She's a little odd but she was nice and she helped me pick an outfit. That's the other thing I really want to talk to you. I- I had a kinda date last night.” 

“Let me guess? With the nice teen neighbor that’s been hanging around you lately?”

“Y-yes.” 

“From what you've told me he seems like really exceptional young man. I am surprised May let you have a date alone though. ”

“Well kinda, we had to have Karen watch us. Make sure we didn't get into trouble.”

“Ah. Great yes, _Karen_ watched you. What else happened?”

“We watched this really old movie called “The Princess bride.” I liked it but I thought I ruined the whole evening, I started bawling at the end, happy endings make me cry sometimes. And he just hugged me and said it was cute and uh he kissed me.”

“And how did you feel about that?”

“I-I liked it. I liked it a lot. And he was sweet. I told him to stop and he did.”

“That's good Peter. Do you have any concerns? You mention before of fear of sexual interactions before. Would you like to go over some things?”

“Yes, I think that would be good.”

“So it’s important to go over what you are comfortable with. To create boundaries. I suggest before you continue any sexual activity that you inform him of the rape and-”

“No. No, I don't, I’m not doing that. I’m not telling him that I was _that._ ”

Natasha gingerly spoke. “It's your choice Peter, I was suggesting.”

“Yeah and I’m just not going to do that so what else?”

“To make sure you're in a situation that you feel safe and able to stop if need be. Peter, I know you like this boy but I hope you're not doing something you don't like or want. Also, I think I should go over some things to make sure you are aware of manipulation tactics.”

“Okay, but I don’t think Luke would manipulate me.”

“Possibly but I was also thinking of someone else who may enter your life one day with ill intent. And I think you should be mentally prepared for someone like that.”

“Alright, I’ll listen.”

_Later._

Peter entered the kitchen weary. The therapy session was unusually exhausting this week. 

“You okay hon?” May was walking about the kitchen preparing food. 

“Yeah just you know, hard session.”

“But helpful?”

“Yeah, Dr.Romanov is great. I couldn't ask for better. Just tired from the session.”

Several moments passed with Peter watching May cook.

“Hey, May can Luke come over tomorrow? Like around 3 I think?”

“Well I’ll actually be out around that time tomorrow but since Karen had nothing to report back to me. Then yes I think that’ll be fine. What’s the plans? Another movie watching?”

“I don't know yet.”

“Well as long as he doesn't cause me to worry it’s fine. I am so happy that you're making friends.”

“Yeah, the decathlon club members are friendly too. I think one of the other members is pretty cool.”

May hummed happily. “That’s great Peter. I think your birthday will be really just the best this year.”

“What are you planning?”

“You'll just have to wait and see. But I will say this. You are going to love it and you finally get to meet someone in person.”

“Who?”

“Just someone who’s been calling me and saying they want to meet you in person. Now stop asking.”

_Next day_

“I thought we would watch another movie?”

“Nah did that, done that. Plus look it’ll be fun.”

“I don't know, the apartment is pretty small for something like this.”

“We’ll make it work. There I fixed the back.”

Peter looked over at the bedroom mirror where he saw himself with a red triangle laser tag sensor and the straps around his shoulders and ribs.

“I look stupid.”

“No, _we_ look stupid. And lighten up it’ll be fun.” Peter looked over at Luke who had his own laser tag sensor on but blue.

“You do look stupid.”

Peter’s sensor started going off suddenly. Peter noticed that Luke held the toy gun at his side trying to hide that he had shot Peter.

“Hey! The game hasn't started yet!”

“Oh my mistake I was just testing it and it just _went_ off.”

Laughing Peter led the other teen back into the living room.

“Okay, so this is how we do this. We start at the opposite ends of the apartment and use the furniture as cover, and whoever gets the most shots in five minutes wins.” Luke explained.

“What do I get when I win?”

“Oh, you're assuming you're going to win?”

“That's what I said.”

“Well, Mr.Confident I’ll tell you what I got you for your birthday _if_ you win.”

“You got me something for my birthday?”

“Of course I did. But you'll have to wait because I’m not going to lose. To your post.”

Peter chuckled as he took his “post” which was the next to his bedroom window.

“Okay, you there?” Luke yelled at his “post” by the fridge. 

“Yeah!”

“Okay. Ready! Set! Go!”

Peter ran out of the bedroom crouching low using the couch as cover. He peeked over to see where the other teen was coming from. When the sensor on his chest started buzzing. Peter startled, turned around, and saw that the other teen had run to the corner of the living room predicting Peter’s strategy. 

Peter quickly jumped over the back of the couch trying to aim at the other’s sensor.

Both teen’s sensor’s buzzed as they successfully aimed at the other while moving across the apartment. When both teens successfully moved under cover of various furniture the buzzing finally stopped.

Luke called out. “I'm winning, you know that right?!”

“Only because of that sneak attack! But I’ll be on top soon.”

“Is that right?”

Peter heard quick movements running in his direction. Before he could fully un crouch himself Luke had entered Peter’s hiding spot and began shooting at the sensor point-blank. 

As Peter attempted to retreat the other teen reached out and startled him. Peter and Luke stumbled into each other and rolled on the floor. Grabbing at each for dominance. 

Luke using his weight got Peter onto his back holding him down with his hips. Peter panicked as the other teen loomed over and began shooting his sensor.

“Hey! No fair, you never said tackling was allowed.”

“Sorry, not sorry I had to win. I couldn't spoil your birthday gift.”

The sensor's buzzing continued. 

“Okay okay, you win! Now let me up you're heavy.”

The darker hair teen lifted up allowing Peter to move up and started to stand but stopped when Luke brought his hand up placing it on his shoulder.

“Wait.”

Peter confusedly looked up at the teen when Luke leaned down and kissed him.

Peter closed his eyes as the kiss continued. Luke leaned into Peter more bringing his hand to rest at Peter’s waist. The kiss broke. Peter slowly opened his eyes to Luke looking at him. He motioned with his head at his hand at Peter’s waist. 

“This okay?”

Peter managed to nod and reached over at the other teen and pulled him back into a kiss. The teen fell back onto the floor deepening the kiss. Peter brought his hands up and started to caress the other’s back. A soft moan escaped the teen’s mouth. The sound excited Peter deeply. Until the sound of the front door lock pierced the room. Both looked at the doorknob. As it turned both leaped off the other, quickly arranging their clothing back to order. May’s face was covered with a full bag in front with additional bags in her hands straining from the weight as she walked in. 

“Peter?”

“Hey, May let me help you with that.”

“No uh, no way shoo this is for your birthday no peeking.”

“I’ll help you Ms.Parker.”

Luke took the heavier looking bag in front.

“Oh! Luke, good yes you can help.”

May lead the other teen to her room with all the bags. Both coming back almost immediately. 

“What's all this?” May pointing at Peter’s odd chest piece.

“Luke and me were playing laser tag while you were gone.”

“How fun! But I need you to not do that. I need a few hours to sleep before my shift.”

“Yeah don't worry we'll be quiet.”

Luke nudged Peter.

“Yes Ms.Parker me and Peter will be really quiet, we’ll just watch stuff on youtube, right Peter?”

“Uh yeah sure.”

May nodded tiredly on the couch. Luke grabbed Peter’s shoulder and walked back to the bedroom. The older teen pointedly opened the door wide. Peter looked confused at the other’s behavior.

“Trust me on this,” Luke whispered. “Just turn your laptop on and start playing any video.”

“Okay.”

After several moments May’s tired movements took her back to her room, closing her bedroom with a soft click of the knob.

Luke then quietly walked over and slowly closed Peter’s bedroom door. Turning around smiling at the other. 

“See? Now she won’t worry about me being here.”

Luke walked over and pulled Peter from the chair and over to the bed.

“That was actually smart.”

“Yeah, maybe I should go to smart person school.”

Luke leaned over and kissed Peter but stopped and leaned away. “This okay? Not too much, too fast?”

Peter meekly nodded. “No this is great, I love it.”

Luke smiled and leaned back in to kiss Peter. Peter closed his eyes as the kiss deepened.

  
  


_Next day_

Peter smiled down at the screen as he texted.

**Luke - Wait wait I got more! Why can't you trust an atom?**

**Peter - Why?**

**Luke - Because they make up everything!**

Peter laughed, his laughter crackled out into the empty dark apartment. 

**Peter - Lols**

**Luke - I know it's late but I'm not tired. Still good to talk?**

Peter nodded and started to text back when a loud ping brought his attention back to his laptop.

**AskJarvis46 - I really need your help on this. It's important that I have your focus.**

Peter exhaled at the screen and began to type out a response when his phone buzzed with another text. Peter stopped typing and excitedly opened the text instead. 

**Luke - Good news btw. I got a friend to film my hockey game next week so you'll be able to see me play from your room in real-time. ;)**

Peter beamed at the text. 

**Peter - That’s so great! I can't wait!**

**Luke - Can I celebrate over there when we win? ;)**

Peter blushed figuring out what the teen was probably alluding to.

**Peter - If you win I wouldn't mind some celebration with me.**

**Luke - Good, can't wait**

**Peter - And if you lose you can cry on my shoulder.**

Peter barely registered the ping sounds his laptop was making. 

**Luke - :O Why you hurt me like this?**

Peter snorted reading the overdramatic text. The laptop noises finally brought his attention back. Peter did a double-take at noticing all the instant request messages he had received while talking to Luke.

**AskJarvis46 - Hey I need your help**

**AskJarvis46 - where are you?**

**AskJarvis46 - I thought this was immediate help?!**

Peter grimaced at all the messages he started to write a sincere apology to AskJarvis46 when a new text pulled him away again. 

**Luke - Hey I know we didn't talk about it but you know I like you right? Like more than just friends? I mean I don't think “just friends” have their tongues down each other's throats like we have.**

Peter turned away from his laptop and reached for his phone and started typing. The laptop’s ping sounds started again but Peter ignored it to text.

**Peter - Yeah I’d say we were more than “just friends”**

**Luke - Good good. Want to video talk? I want to talk to you about that**

**Peter - Sure give me a sec.**

Peter looked back at his laptop to another series of messages from **AskJarvis46**. Reading the messages as he turned on the video talk.

**AskJarvis46 - Hey I thought you would help me?!**

**AskJarvis46 - I need your help and you're just ignoring me**

**AskJarvis46 - You know with this treatment I don't think I should be coming to you for help anymore then.**

“Shit.”

“What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?” Luke’s concerned face entered the screen.

“Oh, sorry no it's not you. That tech service thing I do? Yeah, my best customer I think just fired me.”

“Ouch sorry. You okay?”

“Yeah, you know what? I’m fine, now that I'm getting better I can think about a job outside of the apartment. So it’s good, I didn't think about that till now.”

“Hey, silver lining! And hey I have some money and when you get better we can go out on dates and stuff.”

“Yeah, I can't wait for that.”

  
  


_Friday afternoon_

“Peter get off the couch I need to set things up.”

“I can help.”

“No, no it's a surprise. Go to your room and wait till I tell you to come out. And no peeking I want you fully shocked and amazed when you see everything.” May weakly shoved Peter towards his bedroom.

“Hey! That’s not fair, it's my birthday and you're locking me up?”

“Yep,” May slammed his bedroom closed.

“What do I do if I need the bathroom?!”

“Use the window!” May yelled back.

Peter pulled his phone out. 

**Peter - Hey May locked me in my room. Any ideas what she’s planning?**

**Ned - I do know and nope can't tell you. Just wait it out. I’ll be over soon to help her.**

Peter exhaled. Quickly bored of the confines of his room. Peter walked the room flipping through his books and picking up and putting down random items. After what felt like a lot of time gone by Peter checked his clock and saw seven minutes had passed since he was confined. Peter groaned as he flopped onto his bed. Pulling his phone out again.

**Peter - May locked me in my room so she can surprise me. I am so bored.**

**Luke - I feel that but I can't relieve you of your situation. I'm getting ready for your surprise.**

**Peter - Ugh and I suppose like Ned you're not going to tell me anything?**

**Luke - I can tell you're going to love it.**

**Peter - :( that's not any help.**

**Luke - :) I got to get ready, sorry babe.**

Peter blushed reading the endearment. Peter exhaled and tossed his phone away. He closed his eyes and relaxed into the bed. 

Peter startled awake when his bedroom door was suddenly opened. May excitedly ran in and threw a bag at him. 

“Put this on, quick!” 

May then ran back out slamming the door closed again. Peter baffled at the bag and found clothing inside. 

“Peter! Hurry up!”

“Alright alright, May.”

Peter put on the clothing. And looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a white long sleeve top with a V- neck. A black vest, dark blue pants, and a pair of boots.

“Why would she give me this?” Peter asked himself while examining the mirror’s image.

“Peter! Come _on_! We’re all waiting.”

Peter reluctantly opened his bedroom and walked towards the living room.

“Surprise!” 

A cacophony of voices greeted him. Peter slightly dazed noticed this year’s birthday had a barrage of people. All of which were dressed up. The apartment was decorated in black, silver, and yellow balloons and matching streamers. Nearby was a table of food and drinks and next to that was a larger table engulfed by a large pile of brightly colored presents. A large “Happy 16th Birthday Peter” banner hung on the wall. Peter looked over at the odd group’s costumes. And stopped at Ned’s. Ned was wearing a black cloak and had face paint in black and red. Peter burst into laughter seeing his friends face. 

“Hey! It's a themed costume party, I had to dress up. And don't laugh at my amazing face painting skill.”

“But Darth Maul? And I guess I’m Han?”

“Yep! Here’s the belt and blaster to complete the outfit. We figured you would have figured it out if we gave you the whole costume.”

Peter looked at all the guests. Other than May it looked like everyone had makeshift Star War costumes. The guests were all of the decathlon team, Ned, a few guys from the robotics club, Luke who was wearing jeans and a star wars t-shirt when Luke noticed Peter looking at his lack of costume he shrugged and laughed.

“It's all I could find and hey I get points for having the name.” 

Peter grinned at the explanation. Peter walked the party greeting and having happy exchanges with his guests. Everyone seemed to enjoy the party, the music playing and the food. As Peter spoke to MJ about her very good Rey’s costume he felt a hand tapped at his shoulder. Peter looked away and was shocked to see this person.

“Mrs.Natasha! You're here!”

Natasha smiled down at Peter. “Yes, I thought it would be a fun surprise. And to tell you that I will be able to give you more hands-on sessions. Starting next week I’ll be over here weekly for your sessions.”

“That's great! I'm so happy you're here but you're not wearing a costume.”

Natasha laughed. “Yes, I am.” She pointed to her hair which Peter noticed she had fashioned into two side buns.

“That barely counts.”

“Sorry but I'm not one for costume-wearing. Here I want to give this to you now.” She handed a simple birthday card with a business card taped inside.

“You don't have to give me anything. What's this? Steve Rodgers? Who’s that?”

“He’s a friend. When you get better I want you to call him and give him my name. He’ll give you all the self-defense classes you want for free.”

“That’s really nice Ms.Natasha but do I really need self-defense?”

“Yes,” Natasha spoke sharply. “I think it would help you in confidence and also I think you should be ready if someone attacks you.”

“No ones going to attack me.”

“You should be ready _if_ it happens.”

“Hey, are we doing presents?” Liv walked over pointing to Peter’s hand holding the card.

“Yeah, let’s open a few for now before cake,” May called over.

Peter walked over to the hoard of gifts. He couldn't believe how many were there. He noticed a large one on the floor and looked for a tag.

“Hey, this one doesn’t have a name?”

“Yeah, that one was delivered while I was setting up. Unwrap it, let's see it.”

Peter pulled at the wrapping paper revealing a 3d printer. 

“Whoa is that real?” Ned clamoring over to get a better look. 

Peter was also surprised. He unsealed the top to get a look inside and yes it appeared to be the real deal. Once the top was unsealed Peter found a $500 gift card to a 3d printing filament website.

“Who would buy you a two grand 3d printer? And not even put their name on it?”

Peter looked at the room hoping someone would claim the gift. Peter noticed Natasha looked displeased at the gift. 

Before he could ask MJ spoke up. “Maybe it's from Flash. He’s rich and we all told him to get you something for your birthday since you're a team member.” 

“Yeah I saw him for a second when I was coming up I think he came to just drop off a gift. I was pretty harsh on him after Ned told me he messed with the laptop camera.” Liz offered.

Peter nodded, if Flash was rich maybe this was just another apology. 

“Hey, open mine. Open mine!” Luke excitedly pointed at his badly wrapped gift sitting on the table’s corner.

Peter picked up the gift and picked at the wrapping that just all came off in one go. Luke winced. 

“Yeah sorry not the best at wrapping. But open it!”

Peter unfolded the top to expose the contents. The box contained a bunch of small figures. Peter reached in to examine the toys and he quickly became jubilant. 

“These are all my favorite characters!”

“Yep, I listened to you. I had to go to like six comic book stores but I found all the ones you told me. I know its a cheap gift but-”

“No, I love it!”

“What is it Peter, what did he get you?”

“Luke found all the Star Wars side characters figures I love.”

Ned walked over and took a look. “Oh wow yeah take a look at that. Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mon Mothma, Tarkin, Yaddie, man it must have taken some time finding some of these.”

“Thank you.” Peter leaped up and hugged the teen forcefully.

“Yep. But hey worth it.”

“Hey guys, I got the cake. Happy Birthday to-” May came out of the kitchen carrying the large sheet cake with lit up candles and starting singing. The rest of the party joined her as the cake was brought to the coffee table Peter leaned over and looked around. Overjoyed with everything. Last birthday was a sad affair with a tired, overworked May, and Ned trying his best to make it a good birthday with a gift each and some cupcakes May’s coworker picked up for them. Peter blew out the candles wanting nothing as the crowd cheered happily. 

May quickly cut and passed slices to the party. Peter sat in the corner and watched as the party slowly died down. Contently watching his aunt happily speaking to Natasha.

He felt a hand on his shoulder rousing him. 

“Hey, the party’s dying down, want another birthday gift?”

“Sure?”

“Come on then.”

Peter followed Luke back to his bedroom where the other teen closed and locked his bedroom door. After locking it the teen rushed over and kissed Peter leading him to Peter’s bed. Peter moaned into the kiss and Luke laid on top of Peter on the bed. Peter reached and hugged Luke closer. Bodies pressed closed, Peter felt Luke’s hand reach under Peter’s shirt and gently felt and moved around Peter's chest. Luke broke the kiss and asked. 

“This okay? Can we continue?”

Peter bit his lips and enthusiastically nodded. Leaning back up to kiss Luke and tightening his grip and bringing him tightly back down on top of him. Luke moved from his mouth and started kissing at his neck. Peter mewled as the teen sucked hard on a particularly sensitive part of his neck. Luke hummed appreciatively as Peter whined. Luke gripped Peter’s top and pulled it off along with the vest, tossing it to the floor. Luke examined Peter’s naked torso and placed his hands back onto Peter’s waist. Laying back down on Peter and kissing the hollow of his throat. Peter moaned at the feeling.

Luke suddenly sat up and pulled something out of his pocket tossing it on the bedside table. Peter took a closer look at the thrown item noticing it was a condom packet. Startled Peter reared back. 

“Hey, I’m not. I don’t think.” Peter alarmedly fumbled.

“Hey hey.” Luke grabbed Peter’s arms in a smoothing motion. “It's not there because we have to use it. it's there in case we do need it okay? No pressure. In fact, we don't have to do anymore.” Luke started getting off the bed and started picking Peter’s shirt back up.

“N-no I want to continue. Please come back here.”

Luke nodded and bent back down and started kissing and sucking at Peter’s neck.

Peter rolled his hips and moaned as Luke’s weight settled back on top of him. Luke’s hands gripped hard at Peter’s waist. Slowly moving his hand to unbuttoned Peter’s pants. The sound of the zipper moving down felt deafening to Peter’s ears. Luke took hold of Peter’s waist and started pulling the pants down. Peter was burning scarlet and dazed as he lifted his hips to better remove the clothing item. 

Suddenly a piercing sound stopped both of them.

BWEEP Bip Bip BWEEP---

“What the fuck is that?”

“Shit! It's the fire alarm. We need to go.”

Both teens scrambled up. Luke throwing Peter a shirt as both ran to the front of the apartment. May frantic as the rest of the party ran out the front door. 

“Peter? Peter, we have to leave the building, are you going to be okay?”

“Yes! Come on we have to go.”

The party and the building residence ran down the stairs all meeting up on the sidewalk outside. Peter exhaled as he stood outside with his party guests. He thought he would feel more panicked but he felt Luke’s hand squeeze his hand. Both stood side by side as the building emptied and the alarm blared on. After some time a fire truck drove up to the curb. 

“Hey, I'm sorry that this happened babe,” Luke spoke mournfully to Peter.

“No, I mean yes this part sucks but the rest was really great. It's the best birthday I've had. Thank you.”

Peter reached up and lightly kissed Luke’s cheek. Luke hummed happily.

“Well good. I'm just glad my grandpa went out to his brother’s. I would hate having to listen to him complain about this. Oh look, the sound stopped.” 

Peter looked back at the apartment. The fire department started walking out indicating it was safe to enter. The residence started to slowly move back into the building. Most of the guests had taken off already, after the alarm only Luke, MJ, Ned, and Natasha were left from the party.

Luke and Peter hung back in the crowd as the residence slowly moved in. Luke kept whispering sweet things into Peter’s ear to make him blush and laugh. A person loudly clearing their throat startled both teens. 

Mrs.Peterson stood in front of Peter looking very displeased.

“H-hello Mrs.Peterson.”

“Peter.” She spoke coolly as her eyes shifted back and forth to Peter and Luke.

She spoke coldly at Peter. “You seem _well.”_

“Y-yes, Mrs.Peterson.” Peter fidgeted under the older woman’s stare.

“Unlike my nephew that is. You remember Skip? I still visit him monthly. You know in prison?”

Peter felt sick. Suddenly being outside felt awful and too much for him. Luke noticed Peter’s growing tension. 

“Uh hey? I’m Luke. Nice to meet you. I moved in not too long ago.” Luke reached out and held his hand to the woman. 

Mrs.Peterson looked at the offending hand and scoffed. 

“You watch out he might accuse you of rape too.” She quickly turned around and walked into the apartment.

Peter started shaking harder. 

“What? What was that about? Peter?”

May appeared next to them. 

“Fuck was that old bitch saying shit to you again Peter? I swear if she-”

“N-no. No, it's fine, I just want to get inside.”

The trio made their way inside once at the front door of the apartment Peter motioned for May to go inside. 

“Uh, May I need to speak to Luke real quick okay?”

“Sure hon. Don't worry about the mess tonight.”

The door closing was the only sound in the silent hall. Peter looked at his feet fidgeting trying to sound the words he wanted to say.

“Hey, Peter? It’s okay, you don’t have to explain anything if you don’t want to.”

“I should explain.”

“But you don’t have to. Look just wait to tell me whatever you want to tell me. Let tonight be a good birthday.okay?”

Peter looked up at Luke with watery eyes and nodded.

“Great. Happy birthday. I’ll text you tomorrow and I’ll be by Sunday. We can watch another movie.”

“Y-yeah I like that.”

Luke leaned down and gave a chaste kiss. Turning around he started walking up towards his apartment.

Peter let out a shaky breath and walked back into the apartment where May and Natasha were talking in the kitchen and MJ and Ned sitting on the couch.

“Hey, there’s the birthday guy, come sit with us and weigh in which was the best star wars movie. MJ with her insanity says Empire while _I_ say it’s New hope.”

Peter plopped down on the couch and entered the discussion. 

_Next day._

Peter vacuumed the living room rug when his phone buzzing stopped him.

Peter took his phone out and immediately smiled at the screen.

**Luke <3 - Ok so a few movie choices. I have Heathers, Beetlejuice, The breakfast club, and Coming to America.**

**Peter - You have a major 80’s fetish**

**Luke <3 - These are classics my guy!**

**Peter - Yeah and old. But I like the choices. I've never seen Heathers or Coming to America. So surprise me.**

**Luke <3 - Oh I'll surprise you. :)**

Peter snorted at the text. Putting the phone away and going back to vacuuming he felt everything was just going well.

_Sunday_

Peter opened the front door to a cheerful Luke. “Wait till you see _this._ It's a classic comedy a little strange but hey? Where’s May?”

“She just went out. She shouldn't be back for at least an hour.”

“Oh? Well maybe instead of a movie we can make our own fun?”

Luke grabbed Peter and twirled him around the room bringing Peter to the couch.

Peter softly laughed as Luke moved to kiss Peter. A knock at the door stopped them.

“May?”

“No, she has a key. And she would text me.” 

Peter started to get up but Luke stopped him.

“It's cool, I'll get it.”

As Luke unlocked and turned the knob a fist reached out and punched him square in the face. Peter leaped up watching the other teen clutching his bloodied nose. A large figure started moving into the apartment. 

“Well look at this! Two for one deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omfg so happy this is the last happy Peter chapter I'll have to write in this fic. Doom and gloom from here on out yall.  
> https://www.amazon.com/SHARPER-Two-Player-Children-Multiple-Multiplayer/dp/B0794GJSYG  
> here's the laser tag kit thing - skippyjo gave me the laser tag suggestion.  
> All star wars things are from my older brother because Ive never seen any of those movies.


	9. I am full of anger and sorrow and hate (Tony)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah sorry, this is a tad late. I got like a stress-induced flu and my other fic just took up a lot more time then I had planned.

“Look, why do I pay you? To fucking fix shit when I’m in trouble. Now there has to be something. Some kind of technicality, someone to bribe, evidence lost. Just get me out of here, Elijah.” 

Tony angrily closed the call. He was enraged at how everyone was treating him. He had been in this shit hole for nearly three years. Why punish him more? It was enough! He needed out, Peter needed him. 

Tony went back to his surveillance of Peter. The last he saw him, the teen was so happy with Tony’s help. Tony wanted to bask in the teen’s happiness. The audio connected before the visual and Tony heard the joyful laughter of his boy. Then the video connected and Tony frowned. Peter was in his room with that asshole from his building. Puke was currently making Peter laugh. 

Peter was such a kind boy, laughing to be nice at this obviously stupid kid is what Tony told himself as Peter laughed more. Tony glared at the screen. He watched how comfortable the two looked together. 

Tony imagined how great it’d feel when he swooped in and whisked Peter off his feet. After Peter meets Tony, he won’t remember Puke after ten minutes. Tony reached under his pillow for his alcohol and angrily drank as he watched the teens talk. Finally, after two agonizing hours, May showed up. Tony loved that she told them to keep the door open. Tony knew that he could trust May in keeping his boy safe from this deviant brat. 

Luckily after May showed up the little shit left. Not before the two exchanged numbers. Tony calculated what he should do. Should he just flat out block Puke’s number from Peter’s phone? If he did that it may give him an excuse to come over more. Tony thought over the options while inattentively watching May and Peter talking. Tony was brought back into awareness of the screen when he heard Peter’s panicked voice. 

Tony watched Peter reached back into a bag May had given him and pulled out condoms. 

“Nope, no, no.  _ No _ . Don’t give him that!” Tony yelled at the screen. 

Peter shouldn’t have condoms. He wasn’t ever going to use them, not when Tony came into his life, they would be exclusive and fucking all the time but for now, Peter shouldn’t be near that shit. 

Tony suddenly felt he had lost May as an ally. He had thought he could trust her to keep anyone from touching Peter. Now he had to rethink things. Tony grew more unhappy when he watched Peter with rapt attention reading the sex-ed pamphlets and placed the condoms in his bedside drawer. Then Peter instead of going to his computer to do tech support work he started texting Puke. For hours again. 

Tony couldn’t believe this. He thought only teen girls talked this much. But he was on hour 3 of Peter and Puke texting back and forth with each other. Tony finally succumbed to his blackout, angrily thinking about how happy Peter looked while texting this other boy.

_ Next day _

Tony awoke in the afternoon, hungover and tired still. He grabbed at his phone to see Peter and Puke still fucking texting each other. Tony groaned looking at the book of texts he’ll have to read later. He hated reading them but he couldn’t miss a single bit of information about Peter. Luckily Puke was a narcissist who talked about himself and his shitty hockey team a lot so Tony made quick work of reading all the texts he had missed. 

As he skimmed he noticed on the camera feed that Ned came into the apartment with his broken laptop. Tony considered anonymously sending a new laptop to the teen just so Peter wouldn’t miss a second of school. He reconsidered when Peter had texted Ned about him being able to fix the camera. Tony smiled when he thought about how talented and amazing Peter was. Able to fix broken things with ease. Then Tony remembered how the laptop camera broke. He was so looking forward to Bucky’s phone call later. 

Since Peter and Ned were just talking and fixing the camera, Tony figured he could put his attention elsewhere. He opened Puke’s file his AI had compiled and read. And not surprising he was a typical mediocre kid. His grades were average, he had average hobbies, he had moved from Vermont a boring fucking milquetoast state to his fraternal grandfather apartment. In Tony’s opinion, he didn’t deserve to look at Peter’s shadow much less getting to talk and be in the same room with him.

Tony flipped through more of the teen’s file when he spotted something interesting. 

Puke had been attending a Catholic school in Vermont but was asked by the school to not return in the fall of this year. Seems like Puke got caught necking with a male senior in a storage closet and got shipped out by mom and dad for it. Tony almost felt an iota of pity for the teen and then remembered this sex crazed brat was spending a lot of time with Peter. Tony’s thoughts were broken when he heard Ned say “AES” from Peter's camera feed. 

Panic was overtaking Tony. “Shit.” He chastised himself for not hiding his watching better. He watched as the two walked into the living room to ask Karen about it. He quickly gave a command to the AI to not say he had access to any of the Parker’s tech. Luckily Karen covered for Tony perfectly. Tony made a note to himself to never fuck up like this again. He couldn’t afford Peter coming near the truth of Tony watching over him all this time.

Karen alerted him that, of fucking course, Puke was at Peter’s door. Tony watched as the brat came into Peter’s apartment and Ned left. Tony was beginning to think neither May nor Ned was on his side on this. Both seemed to just be pushing Peter into the shitty arms of the mediocre brat. 

Now that Peter and Puke were alone, Tony was trying to think about what he could do to get the teen out of Peter’s apartment. He was considering calling the fire department to report a gas leak but then Peter would probably go with him. He could call Bucky again and get a point across but he’d probably run to Peter to get sympathy. 

Tony grabbed his extra bottle of alcohol and started taking a sip, growing angrier as he listened to Puke asking to come over for a movie. Tony’s mood perked up when he realized Puke was trying to come over after May would be at work. No way in hell May would let some sex-crazed teen near Peter without a babysitter now. 

Tony laughed darkly at the screen. The older teen looked so happy as Peter accepted the date, not knowing that no way in Hell was it happening. Tony sat back, sipped some more of his drink, and enjoyed watching tv with Peter.

Tony was humming, happily listening to May and Peter arguing over Puke coming over. He didn’t like denying anything to Peter but given that he wanted alone time with some deviant, he’d make an exception to Peter’s wants. 

“Still, things can happen. Bad things. I trust you but I don't trust him, Peter I mean.”

“That’s right Aunt Hottie, you keep that brat away from our Peter.”

“If I may say something?” Karen spoke.

Tony sat up annoyed. His very own AI that he created just revealed it has a baby monitor program and was more than capable of reporting Peter to May, similar to how he uses the program for his watching. Before he could tell Karen to stop, it had convinced May into allowing the date to happen. 

Tony started yelling at the AI. “Why the fuck did you do that?! Why are you working against me? I didn’t program you for that!”

“My commands were to make Peter happy and to be watchful. It seemed like the opportune moment to use my protocols to make Peter happy.”

“I don’t want you offering things like that again! Just fucking listen to me.”

“Yes, Mr. Stark.”

Tony calmed down enough to think. May said she’d set Karen to tell her if any hanky panky goes on. Tony will just have to step in before anything goes that far. 

It would be fine. Puke wouldn’t get any action so he’d leave in a huff and Peter would see his true colors. Tony exhaled in relief. A text buzzing brought his attention back to the phone.

**Bucky - It’s done.**

Well, he did remember the man being of few words. The text came with pictures that Tony happily scrolled through. He whistled at the damage Bucky did to Peter’s bully. A black eye, bruised ribs, and a damaged arm. And a picture of the apology note Flash was going to hand-deliver to Peter. 

Tony quickly read over the letter nodding. Bucky managed to get what he wanted in the letter. Of course, Flash deserved so much worse treatment for bullying his boy but Tony really loved the idea of the brat apologizing to Peter in person. 

Speaking of Peter, it was about time to start his weekly “IT help.” Oh, what would Tony do with all these inane IT problems that Peter and only Peter could help him with? Tony was oddly giddy. He adored talking to Peter directly and he loved throwing money at the teen even more. Tony happily typed a tech support question. And waited. He looked at what Peter was doing and he was fucking texting Puke. 

“Hey, Peter honey, I’m here?”

Tony typed another question and watched Peter this time. He could clearly hear the ping sound in the bedroom. But Peter was still focusing all his attention on someone other than Tony. Tony angrily typed another question. 

**AskJarvis46: I have very extensive IT issues. I'll need your undivided attention for hours. But I’ll pay extra.**

_ That _ should get the teen’s attention. Tony sat back fully prepared to throw as much money as possible to get Peter to himself for the night. Then what he never expected happened. 

**Parker’sTechHelp: I am so sorry but I have a family emergency. I won’t be available for IT support tonight.**

Tony was filled with a certain kind of rage he never felt before. Peter blew him off. His boy just lied and ignored him for some fucking punk that couldn’t rub two nickels together. Tony put the phone down and got up. He was so blind with rage he couldn’t risk damaging his phone in anger. Tony picked up his alcohol bottle, gulped all the contents, and exhaled. He then threw the bottle as hard as he could against the wall.

_ Next day _

Tony rubbed his forehead. It was way too early for him to be up but he wanted to see Peter’s face when his bully groveled at his feet. His mood was growing worse as he watched Peter and Puke do Peter’s daily therapy exercises. Peter kept laughing at all of the older teen’s jokes. It was pissing him off just how nice Peter is to humor such an unfunny kid. 

But luckily the time had come. He happily watched, from the camera pointed at Peter’s apartment door, how injured the teen bully looked. He was absolutely groveling to May overseeing Peter and apologizing.

Speaking of Peter. He and the other teen were just walking up now. The injured bully gave Peter the letter and Puke took his leave. Tony had thought Peter would be ecstatic over the apology letter but he looked upset. Peter had a confused look on his face while reading. 

Tony cursed at himself. He should have known Peter was too good-hearted for revenge, that was more Tony’s style. Tony sighed at the screen. He was happy that this was one less problem but sad that he didn’t get the reaction he wanted from the teen. Now that Peter was going to talk to Nat, he heard one last thing and turned the phone off. 

“That’s because you’re a good kid!”

Tony laughed darkly. That’s the problem; sometimes Peter was  _ too _ good. Too sweet to annoying, stupid neighbors, too trusting of fake therapists, too forgiving of shitty bullies. 

Tony paced in his cell, thinking. He needed to think about what he could do to protect his boy from all these people that wanted him for the wrong reasons and people who wanted to keep Tony away from him. Speaking of one of those people, Nat was calling him.

“Stark. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Hello, Nat. Had a good time with Peter?”

“You’re not as smart as you think you are. Paying to beat up a kid. Really, Tony?”

“When others fail to protect Peter, I pick up the slack.”

“You are unbelievable. I think Peter needs protection from _ you _ .” 

“Do you really think you’re in a position to judge? Let’s talk about that,  _ Doctor _ Romanov. Where’d you get your degree, by the way? I wasn’t aware Russian prisons had doctorate programs. Or was it a work-study thing when you were working for that crime syndicate?”

“Stark.”

“Nat.”

“You’ve made my decisions very easy for me, thank you. I’ll be seeing you soon, Stark.”

“What the fuck does that mean? Nat, if you do something to fuck with me and -,”

The dial tone was deafening in the cell. 

Tony scoffed as he closed the call feature. Pacing the cell muttering to himself. 

“Who the fuck does that woman think. Nat has no right.  _ No right. _ I know what Peter needs. Hell, Peter without me is, is, is just stuck and sad and would still have less than ten dollars in his bank account.  _ I did that _ .  _ I  _ helped Peter, not  _ Nat.  _ Not Puke.  _ No one  _ but me!”

Tony took a long gulp of alcohol as he went back to watching his boy.

_ Later _

Tony thought he was going to vomit. It was Sunday night and he was spending another hour watching Peter and Puke video chatting. Puke, for whatever reason, kept making shitty jokes, and Peter, the saint that he was, just kept laughing. Tony was getting annoyed. 

“Jesus, sweetheart, if you laugh like that at his shitty jokes, I’ll be able to make you laugh for days.”

Tony took another drink. The only thing that really got Tony through all the constant Puke interaction was his liquor. Tony winced from the sound. And he couldn’t fucking wait to never see or hear Puke for the rest of his life. 

“Hey, sorry, I have to take the trash out or I’ll get yelled at. I’ll be back in like, ten.”

“Sure thing! I’ll be here when you get back.”

Tony spoke to the screen. “Fucking yes, finally a break!” 

Tony flopped back onto the cot, rubbing his eyes. He was on the verge of a massive headache. A ping brought him back to looking at the screen. Karen was telling him that there was suspicious activity to watch. On-screen was May, backing what looked to be a very fearful Puke into the hallway corner. Tony grinned from ear to ear. 

“I just knew you were on my side.” Tony zoomed the cameras and turned the speaker up. 

“H-hello, Ms.Parker. Uh, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“So, Peter tells me you're coming over tomorrow.”

“Y-yes. He said you said it was f-fine?”

Tony was so happy. May was scaring the brat and it showed.

“Yes it is ‘fine’ but there are going to be some rules. Okay? Well not ‘okay’ because you don't have a say in the matter.”

“Y-yes, Ms.Parker.”

“Great. First off, you will respect Peter and my home. You will not touch him against his wishes and if he tells me you did something he didn't want?” May menacingly walked closer to the teen. “I’m not afraid to go to prison for Peter. You understand me?”

“Yes, Ms. Parker.”

“Good!” May placed her hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Stop looking like I’m going to kill you. I’m not. I won't have to, right? Because Karen, Peter’s robot will be watching over and will tell me if anything happens.”

“Y-yes, Ms.Parker. I’ll behave!”

“Good, good. Hey, lighten up, no stealing bases before you're even on the team yet.”

May walked away laughing at the teen’s confused face. Tony was enraged. He thought May was going to scare the brat away not give him a light scolding. 

“Fuck!” Tony cursed loudly in the silent cell. 

And said brat was back to talking to Peter like nothing happened. May basically gave her blessing to their wedding. Tony was livid at May. 

“Is that how you protect Peter? Really just going to let some sex-crazed brat come over  _ alone _ . Fuck May, what’s next? Fucking candles and condoms on Peter’s bed next time he comes over?!”

Tony was outraged. He thought May would protect Peter. Obviously since only Tony had Peter’s best interests, Tony would just have to be the one that did all the protecting. Tony knew he was right about this. Tony took a long drink and went back to watching Peter. He had to protect his boy by any means necessary.

_ Next afternoon  _

Tony groaned. The buzzing was making his hangover worse. He reached for it without thinking and answered. 

‘What? Who’s calling?” Tony got up from his cot and picked up his liquor bottle shaking the last bit of liquid into his mouth. 

“Mr. Anthony!”

Peter's voice surprised him and he dropped the glass. He jumped as shatter glass covered the concrete floor. “Shit, fuck.” Tony carefully avoided the broken shards.

“Are you alright, Mr. Anthony?”

Peter’s sweet voice stole his attention. Tony settled the phone so it was propped up on his desk. He melted at seeing Peter’s concerned face peering into Karen’s camera.

“Yeah, sorry kid, I was just taken off guard. What, um, why are you calling?”

Peter’s face broke into a wide smile.

“Well, I took my exam that you helped me on and I made a 97! And I wanted to tell someone but I couldn’t and Karen called you. I’m sorry, I didn't know she would do that.”

Tony smiled. Glad that the AI would bring Peter to him more. Maybe he could find a way to get these conversations weekly. Hell, he could find a way to lead this to them meeting once Tony got out. 

“No, it's great kid. I'm happy you called. Really happy, actually glad I was able to help.”

“Well thank you, Mr. Anthony, I'll leave you be. I don't want to bother you anymore.”

  
  


Shit. No. He wanted more. He had to have more of his boy’s attention.

  
  


“No! Wait, I'm not busy at all, really, nothing on the docent today, so uh, tell how else is your day? Any plans?” 

Just keep him talking and the kid won’t leave.

“Well, I'm on the Academic Decathlon team. We have practice today.”

“And how's that?”

“I like it, a lot of nice members. Well, mostly.”

Tony smiled. He knew just who Peter was talking about. Thankfully, Peter needn't worry about it. Tony’s instructions to the bully had been to avoid Peter like the plague for at least a month.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, one guy doesn't seem to like me and I think he bullied me last week. But it was so strange, he came by yesterday and gave me an apology letter.”

“Sounds like the asshole was put in his place.”

“What do you mean?”

Shit! Tony was still a little drunk. He couldn't risk telling the kid too much.

“Uh, nothing kid he probably just had, I don't know, a come to Jesus moment or something. But that's good he apologized right?”

“Y-yeah it was just weird. He acted like, I didn't know, it’s funny. He kinda acted like his life depended on giving me the apology letter.”

Tony found an extra bottle he kept “just in case.” He needed to relieve his hangover somehow. Tony took a sip before talking. “Funny, that.”

“Yeah, it was just weird. I hope he’s at the meeting today. I want to make sure he’s okay.”

Tony just couldn't believe sometimes how sweet his boy is. Peter deserved sainthood. 

“That's because you're a really great kid, Peter. What else are you planning today? Going out and about and painting the town red?”

Peter laughed. “Um, no, nothing too exciting. Well, I am looking forward to one thing. I have a, uh, I think I have a movie date tonight.”

Tony’s brows knitted in irritation. He forgot in his moment of happiness that Puke existed. He couldn't stop the anger in his voice, thinking about the other teen.

“Oh?” 

“Y-yeah, I can’t wait.”

Tony took a long drink and spoke acrimoniously. 

“And what's the plan? Getting lucky with a girl?”

“Oh no, it's a guy.” Peter was blushing in full view of Karen’s front camera.

“Lucky guy.”

“I guess. I really like having him as a friend.”

“What's so great about him?”

“Well, he’s funny.”

Tony scoffed.

“And he’s really nice and he seems really understanding and I think he's cute and I just like him.”

"Well, better take advantage while he's still interested because you won't keep him long not being able to leave your apartment."

“What? What do you mean? How- how did you know I couldn't leave?”

Tony panicked. Peter looked very upset and he had just fucked up royally. He needed to think quickly.

“Karen told me. She said a kid who couldn't attend school needed my help.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Peter looked pale and disgusted. Tony fucked up. He fucked up bad.

“Oh. Sorry, I think I need to go. Thanks again for your help.”

“Shit, yeah, um, kid. Call me if you need any more help, okay?”

“Sure.” Peter disconnected the call.

Tony winced when Peter spoke to Karen about him. 

“Ah, yeah, sorry Karen, I don't think you should connect to Mr. Anthony again. I think I’ll just ask my teacher for help from now on.”

He had definitely fucked up. Tony started to pace instantly, wincing in pain when he stepped on a broken glass shard. 

“Fuck!” He sat back down and pulled the glass out of his foot. He sighed as he grabbed a nearby shirt to stop the bleeding. Still worried and panicky, he took a deep breath and spoke calmly to himself. 

“Alright. You fucked up. Couples fight all the time. This is just that. The first fight of many future ones.” Tony laughed. “Yeah, that's it. First fight. Here, I thought it would be over leaving clothes on the floor or me spoiling him too much. Yeah, first fight.” Tony took a shaky breath and reached for his phone. 

Peter was in his club meeting and the other members were all asking him questions. 

Tony figured out immediately that the club’s goal was to figure out what to bring to Peter’s birthday. Tony had originally planned on several gifts but hearing Peter’s interest in 3d printing had Tony humming happily, buying a good printer and gift cards to a filament site. 

Tony fantasized about his next birthday. He'd buy Peter a nice car and take him on vacation somewhere. Tony drooled thinking of Peter sunbathing on a beach somewhere. Tony was brought back out of the fantasy as Peter moved around his bedroom bringing clothes to the web camera. 

“Ugh.” Tony realized Ned and the weird girl were helping Peter try to look nice for his date. He noticed the outfit the teens selected were the new clothes Tony had sent. 

Tony groaned. “No. Don't wear the clothes I bought you! Not for the brat!” Tony flopped back on the bed, exasperated. 

To add insult to injury, Ned was telling Peter to brush his teeth in case he got somewhere with the other teen. Tony rubbed his eyes. His hangover was turning into a full migraine. Tony would check the screen every few minutes, overcome with dread opposite Peter’s nervous, excited energy. 

Tony’s head stopped throbbing enough to give his full attention to the screen. Where Peter was nervously attempting “pick up lines.” Tony burst out laughing at the kid’s bad lines. When he finally stopped laughing and wiped his eyes, Peter had moved to the kitchen to pick at his dinner.

Tony watched the two Parker’s eat and talk. His good mood souring when Peter’s date was brought up. Tony’s hand instinctively started reaching for his drink, barely stopping himself from taking more than a sip. He reminded himself that he needed to stay sharp for tonight's event. 

May finally left the apartment. Tony groaned seeing from the other apartment cameras. Puke was hiding out on the stairwell to Peter’s apartment sneaking back into the corner as May walked out of the apartment and down the stairs. The teen nervously waited on the stairs. Tony could see the nervous energy radiate from the brat as he paced near Peter’s apartment and looked at his watch. Tony groaned loudly as he watched the teen knock on Peter’s door. 

“Oh, good. Sorry about that. She, un, kinda cornered me when I was taking out the trash, and honestly, I never thought I would be terrified of a woman that I outweigh by so much.”

“Oh shut the fuck up brat, she barely did anything to you.” Tony hated this lying fuck.

“Yeah, sorry about her, she’s kinda overprotective of me.”

“Ugh, if she was overprotective she would have threatened him a little harder.”

“Eh, you're worth it. And look.” 

Tony zoomed in on the movie case. Recognizing it as soon as Peter read the title aloud. 

“The Princess Bride? That's like, a really old movie, right?”

Tony felt a stab of pain to his ego. He did see it when he was around Peter’s age, but that didn't make him “ _ really old _ .”

Karen had been moved directly in front of the two. Tony could use the tablet’s rear camera to watch the entire movie but he had chosen to watch the two teens head-on, glaring as he noticed the older teen moved closer and closer to Peter. Towards the end of the film, Peter started tearing up. “Oh, sweetheart. Did the pervert pick a shitty movie?”

The older teen finally noticed an upset Peter and backed away. At Peter’s explanation, the teen reached over and grabbed his boy. Tony barked in anger. “Hey Karen, stop this shit. Break it apart.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Stark, but May gave me specific instructions for what's allowed and not and what is occurring is allowed.”

Tony took a deep breath. Glaring at the screen as Puke continued holding onto Peter like he’s some toy. Tony sighed and took a quick sip of his drink. When he tipped his head back to the screen he thought his eyes would pop out of his head. The fucking brat was on his boy, forcing his mouth on Peter’s precious lips. 

“Gah! Hey, hey, hey, Karen, step in already!”

“Actually, May permitted this as well.”

Tony threw his hands up. “What the fuck didn’t she ‘okay?’” Tony noticed the older teen’s hands move to Peter’s jeans. “You know what? Override. Put a stop to this,  _ now _ .”

Tony watched as Karen started her override protocol when Peter suddenly jolted backward from the other teen. Tony watched with rapt attention as Peter spoke.

“No, um, you mind if we go slow? Like, really slow?” 

Tony sighed. He had hoped that Peter would tell the brat to fuck off and get out of the apartment, not go back to slowly torturing Tony by kissing. The two teens went back to just kissing. Tony couldn't watch anymore. “Karen, fucking stop this now.”

Tony took another drink, his eyes not leaving the screen this time as the two teens bemoaned the AI’s sudden change in rules. Tony’s confusion grew as the older teen led Peter to the hallway. Tony switched cameras to watch the two. 

“What did you want to show me?”

“Hmm? Nothing, she just can’t see us out here.”

Tony cried out in rage seeing the teen leaned over and kissing Peter. “That fucking little sneaky shit! Karen do something!”

“I can call the fire department?”

“Ugh no, just fuck!” Tony wanted to explode with rage watching this brat touch his Peter. Tony wanted to tear this brat apart. Finally, Puke let go of Peter and fucked off. Tony’s relief was short-lived as he saw that the two got to texting almost immediately. Tony groaned as he read the texts and fell into despair at another fucking date coming soon. Tony took a long drink and felt drained.

_ Next day _

Tony sat at his desk aggravated. He rubbed at his face, growing restless. Peter was currently talking to Nat and he knew a phone call from the woman was coming. He restlessly tapped his foot. He didn't even have any more alcohol left. Weasel wouldn't bring his next round for another few hours. 

He had been thinking of ways to replace Nat as Peter’s therapist but had not been successful in any real plans. Peter liked the woman too much and she had helped Peter a lot. Honestly, Tony thought when he hired her all she would do would be to listen to Peter weekly until Tony could come in and whisk Peter away to his penthouse. The phone laying nearby started to buzz. Tony didn't need to check the ID as he answered. 

“Nat.”

“Stark.”

“How’s Peter?”

“He had such a lovely fun date that I’m sure you watched every creepy second of.”

Tony sighed. “Okay, Nat, I get it. You don't approve of my plans. Now, why are you calling me?”

“Well, I was going to openly mock you by telling you how much fun Peter had at his date and how great Luke is and how happy Peter is. But since you want to ruin my fun, I’ll cut to the chase. Peter mentioned how shitty you were to him. Safe to say he won’t be wanting to contact the great, ‘Mr. Anthony,’ the tutor.”

“I fucked up. I know this and I’m going to fix it.”

“Stark. Tony, this whatever that you're doing should end.”

“What?” Tony sharply spoke.

“Tony, please listen. I’m willing to help you stop this unhealthy obsession. Maybe this can be channeled into something helpful. Instead of being consumed by this, you can - “

“Shut the fuck up, Nat. You don’t have a fucking say in this. Peter is mine. And I swear, if you do anything to prevent me from seeing Peter, you'll regret it.”

“Goodbye, Stark.”

_ Next day _

Talk about one lame-ass date. Tony grumbled, watching the Puke adjust the laser tag chest piece. Laser tag? In a small apartment. No fucking way. Peter should be going to the best restaurants or enjoying the finest entertainment. Tony watched as Peter laughed and ran around the apartment chasing the big idiot. 

On second thought, it would be fun doing all that classic date stuff with Peter. Walking Central Park, seeing movies, getting pizza from Tony’s favorite place. Tony began imagining how great it would be doing simple things with Peter. His thoughts were cut short when he noticed too much movement on the screen. The older teen had tackled Peter to the floor and was holding him down with the extra weight he had over Peter.

Tony yelled at the screen. “You fucking cheating asshole. Get off him!”

Tony bitterly watched as the teens became entangled and kissed. Luckily, it appeared May was just approaching the door. With any luck, May would walk in and beat the shit out of Puke. 

Tony dismayed as he watched the two teens leap off of each other before May could fully get inside. Tony was disappointed in not getting to at least see the brat kicked from the apartment. He watched as May and Puke took the party supplies to May’s room. 

Tony’s agitation grew as he watched Puke make his devious plan to get Peter alone while May was still there. As Tony watched Puke gently push the bedroom door closed Tony had to curse. 

“Sneaky, fucking perverted, little creep.” He turned the phone off. He just couldn't watch another makeout session between his boy and some punk who shouldn't be anywhere near Peter, much less get to be blessed by touching his soft skin. Tony drank more. 

Karen had orders to call him if something more than just kissing happened. And that's what Tony had to constantly remind himself. “It’s just kissing.” Peter was just kissing. He didn't like it but it wasn't too bad considering all he had done sexually. 

Still, Tony had an angry energy thinking that across the river his boy was being groped and kissed by some punk.

_ Next day  _

Tony awoke groggy and hungover. He looked at the time. He had missed his AA meeting. He looked at his phone and groaned. He fell asleep while Peter and Puke texted back and forth. It had gotten so boring for Tony. And he was out of liquor. Great. 

He couldn't do another night of reading the two going back and forth. He needed a Peter interaction fix and he’s more than happy to pay for the chance. Tony sent a quick $100 message to Peter’s site. He worded it to gain Peter’s attention. And then he waited. 

And waited. 

And watched as Peter ignored his message to text Puke. Tony was offended. After all that he’s done? He won't be ignored. He sent more messages. Each one was ignored by the teen. Tony, now furious, sent a message he knew would have Peter begging to talk to him.

**AskJarvis46 - You know with this treatment, I don't think I should be coming to you for help anymore then.**

Tony leaned back and smiled. He didn't like using this tactic on Peter. But if that’s what needed to happen to get his boy’s attention, so be it. Tony watched gleefully as Peter read his message. 

“Shit.”

“What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?” Puke’s voice came through. Tony wrinkled his nose. Why wasn’t Peter hurriedly apologizing to him? Why was he still talking to Puke?

“Oh, sorry no, it's not you. That tech service thing I do? Yeah, my best customer I think just fired me.”

“Ouch, sorry. You okay?”

“Yeah, you know what? I’m fine, now that I'm getting better, I can think about a job outside of the apartment. So it’s good, I didn't think about that till now.”

What. 

Tony was astonished. He hadn't planned for this. He thought Peter would be sending him a slurry of messages apologizing for not prioritizing Tony. Tony felt a wave of regret and nausea. Had he just ruined another interaction with Peter?

“Hey, silver lining! And hey, I have some money so when you get better we can go out on dates and stuff.”

“Yeah, I can't wait for that.”

Tony turned off the phone, gently placing it away from him. He paced the cell and stopped suddenly. 

Then he punched the wall as hard as he could. 

_ Next day _

Tony looked down at the ugly splint covering his right fist.

“Alright, so no cast thankfully. Boxer’s fractures can be pretty painful. So, want to tell me what led you to punch a solid wall? Not much of an opponent, Stark.” The prison doctor looked over at Tony from his desk. 

Tony had attempted to ignore the pain and by morning was in such agony, he trekked to medical and waited for hours in searing pain until he received treatment.

“I don’t know.”

The doctor nodded. “Alright, not the first time I’ve heard that answer. I can give you some minor painkillers. You'll have to go up to the pharmacy window before lights out to receive another dose. Now, normally I would prescribe something a little stronger than what I’m giving you but I read in your file you have a history of addiction?”

Tony nodded. 

“Ah well, in that case, no habit-forming prescriptions for you. Alright, that's all?”

Tony numbly walked back to his cell. His fist was throbbing in pain still. Upon entering, he noticed Weasel had dropped off another bottle of liquor. He immediately gulped down a mouthful. The drink quickly took the edge off his pain. 

He reached for his phone, flipping through the cameras. He found Peter peacefully sleeping in his room. He flipped to Karen’s camera, finding May, Ned, fucking Puke, and the weird girl from Peter’s club “MJ” decorating the apartment for Peter’s birthday party. 

It was okay. It was what Tony expected. A cheap party with a shoestring budget in a small apartment. Peter would love it but Tony knew he could give better. 

Tony zoomed in at the gifts table, happy to see his gift clearly the largest one there. Smiling at his gift, he was excited to see Peter's inevitable happy face when he opened it. 

Tony was bored and decided to watch the party being set up. Eventually, Peter’s shitty bully, Flash, appeared for a second, threw a gift down on the table, and fled. Tony chuckled at the whole event. 

A large crowd gathered in the apartment. All murmuring and happy to start the party. Tony was shocked that so many would show up. Suddenly, a hand was placed over the tablet's camera. Tony confusedly watched as the hand lifted and Natasha’s face appeared. 

Her face showed irritation and then she sighed and placed the tablet back on the table.

“Okay, everyone here? Everyone ready? Let me go get the birthday boy and we can all get the party going.” May excitedly spoke to the mostly teenage crowd. 

Tony switched to Peter’s room camera and watched as Peter was thrown a costume and told to get changed quickly. Tony switched the camera back to the tablet. 

In some ways, he felt like he had joined the party as well. And he wanted to see Peter’s surprised face when the party greeted him. Peter walked into the living room. The group cheered and Tony clapped with the group, forgetting he wasn't actually at the party. 

Tony took out his liquor bottle and took a drink. He watched as Peter happily walked the party, interacting with the guests. Until Peter got to Puke. Tony frowned as the teen made a shitty excuse for not dressing up for the party. If Tony was there, he would happily dress up in anything Peter wanted him to. Tony scoffed. 

Natasha approached Peter. Tony braced himself, he knew he wouldn't like whatever was about to happen. Natasha was talking with Peter about doing his therapy in person. Tony frowned at that. They had agreed to keep Peter’s sessions online. Her gift had Tony frowning more. 

“Self defense classes? Ridiculous. Once he’s around me, he’ll have a bodyguard at all times.” Tony laughed at the screen. Then he realized something as Nat sharply spoke. 

“- I think you should be ready if someone attacks you.”

Natasha was giving him self defense because she thought Peter was in danger from Tony. Tony was growing infuriated by the realization. Tony was never going to hurt Peter. Once they meet, Peter will never want for anything. How dare she even think that for a sec-.

“Hey, are we doing presents?”

Tony’s rage dissipated once Peter reached for Tony’s gift. As Peter opened the gift, Tony waited on edge to hear excitement or joy or anything. Instead, he heard Peter confused over such an expensive gift. 

Tony grew crestfallen at the lack of reaction from Peter. He cursed himself for buying it. He should have picked something better. The crowd had decided Peter’s bully had probably bought it. Tony grew offended at the very thought that some punk was getting credit for his gift. 

Tony’s mood only continued to sour as Peter happily cheered as he opened Puke’s shoddy gift. As Peter lively called out what Puke had given him, Tony made quick google searches of the figures. Tony calculated even on the higher end Puke, at most, had spent $30 on Peter’s birthday gift. 

Tony was in disbelief. This fucking brat bought a couple of toys for cents and Tony bought a brand new, top of the line, 3d printer and Peter was acting like Puke bought him a fucking condo facing Central Park. Tony gulped down more of his alcohol. 

Getting slightly lightheaded, he watched as the crowd sang “Happy birthday” to Peter as the cake was brought out. 

Tony quietly sang along sadly with the party, watching a happy Peter blow his candles out. Tony promised himself he would be with Peter on his next birthday. Tony yawned as the party emptied after the cake was passed out and eaten. 

He jolted to awareness as Puke approached Peter and took Peter back to his bedroom. Tony groaned as he watched the teen close and lock the bedroom door. Of course, the brat would take the opportunity to grope at Peter. 

Tony bitterly watched as the teen groped and manhandled Peter on the bed. Tony glared as the teen threw a condom on the side table. Tony decided then to launch into action. 

“Karen, you're locked into the apartment’s systems right?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark.”

“Can you turn the fire alarm on?” 

“I can. Would you like me to activate that now?”

Tony could hear the sound of a zipper coming down from Peter’s room.

“Yes, activate the fire alarm now.” 

Tony felt relieved seeing the two teens quickly untangling themselves and running out of the apartment. Tony followed Peter using the CCTV cameras and watched as Peter walked just outside of the apartment. 

Tony leaned back and sighed at what a close call that was. And realized he couldn't rely on a fire alarm again when Peter was alone with the other teen. He needed to think of how to keep the two separated. 

Tony didn't think he could sit back and watch some creep doing that to Peter. The phone buzzed. Tony read the short message. 

**We need to talk. Tomorrow 8 AM.**

_ Morning  _

Tony stayed up all night. He knew whatever Nat had to say he wasn’t going to like it. Tony laid in his cot and closed his eyes imagining how he wanted to spend Peter’s birthday. 

_ “You said it was a simple beach house!”  _

_ Tony chuckled as he kissed Peter’s temple, resting his arms across Peter’s waist, bringing him closer. Both men were standing on the yacht’s deck, looking at the approaching private island that had a large beach house near the shore. _

_ “Have I ever done anything simple? And it's a double celebration. Honeymoon and your 21st birthday. Had to go extra for this.” _

_ “Still.” Peter pouted.  _

_ Tony gave a quick slap to Peter’s ass. Peter yelped from the pain.  _

_ “Don't be bratty. We’ve been married for four hours. It's too soon for a divorce.” _

_ “No, of course not, you're not getting rid of me that easy.” _

_ Tony leaned down and kissed Peter. “Good. But I plan to spoil you forever now.” _

_ “Hmmm. Well, maybe I can give some give on that.”  _

_ Tony and Peter disembarked from the yacht onto the dock and towards the large beach house. Peter grinned as we walked from room to room gazing at the beautiful beach views from nearly every window. Tony grabbed Peter’s hand and led him to the master suite.  _

_ Tony opened the double doors to the large, airy room dominated by a king-size bed and windows overlooking the beach. The floor had a path of rose petals leading to the bed.  _

_ “Oh Tony, this is great.” Tony leaned down and suddenly picked Peter up bridal style, carrying him to the bed. _

_ “Hey, stop, you'll hurt yourself.” _

_ “Nope, I know you keep forgetting but you're very light compared to me and small. It’s like carrying a kid with you.” _

_ Tony gently placed Peter on the bed moving on top of him at once. Tony leaned forward and started kissing Peter deeply. Peter moaned into the kiss. Tony made quick work of undressing the younger man.  _

_ Peter whined as Tony broke the kiss but then noticed only he was naked. Peter pulled at Tony’s clothes.  _

_ “Tony, come on, get these off, too.” _

_ “Nah. Give me a second. I love you like this.” _

_ Peter flushed at Tony leering over all his naked skin. “Like what?” Peter pouted. _

_ “Cute. Needy. Desperate.” Tony leaned over and gave a hard suck on Peter’s neck. Peter moaned and his hips started thrusting up. Tony’s hands reached down and pressed his hips down into the mattress. Leaning back,he admired the deep red marks on Peter’s neck. Tony leaned back down and started kissing along Peter’s body, carefully avoiding any contact with Peter’s hard erection jutting out.  _

_ As Tony sucked hard on Peter’s thighs, the younger man's hands were on Tony's shoulders, trying to gain his attention. Tony smiled up at Peter’s desperate flushed face. Peter was trying to form words. “Yes, honey?” _

_ “Tony! Tony, please.” _

_ “Please what?” Tony lightly traced Peter’s erection. The younger man cried in frustration from the contact. Tony smiled at the needy cries. Tony kept a punishing hold on Peter’s hips, preventing any movement. “Oh, can't answer? I guess I’ll just press on.” _

_ The man flipped Peter over, reaching over and placing a pillow to hold his hips up. Tony grabbed Peter’s wrists and placed them on the headboard.  _

_ “Don't move your hands from this spot. I don't want to punish you, understand?”  _

_ When Peter didn’t answer, Tony slapped Peter’s ass. “Hey, I'm asking you if you understand?” _

_ “Y-yes. Yes sir.” Peter nodded. _

_ “Good boy.” Peter keened over the endearment. Tony lightly rubbed the newly red mark on Peter’s ass cheek. Moving back more, Tony placed both hands on Peter's cheeks, spreading him. The younger man’s body flushed scarlet as Tony continued to stare at Peter’s hole.  _

_ “You know, it amazes me how you’re always so tight considering how often we fuck.” Peter's head moved in an attempt to hide his face more. Tony removed one hand and lightly traced over Peter’s hole. “I should just keep you plugged up all the time. That way it’ll be easy to just bend you over anything and fuck you. Would you like that, darling?” _

_ Tony bent down to see Peter’s eyes screwed shut and his head weakly nodding. “I think I've teased you enough.”  _

_ Tony went back to holding Peter spread open and started to tongue his rim, lapping at the muscle as Peter panted and Tony laved back and forth over his hole. Tony continued tongue fucking him as Peter sobbed.  _

_ Peter’s erection was painfully hard and constantly leaking precum, dripping on the duvet. Tony’s tongue slipped out, and lightly kissed the top of Peter's thighs.  _

_ Peter sighed with relief, assuming Tony was now going to jerk him off instead. Peter felt cold lube being spread over his hole. A finger covered in lube quickly breached him and started thrusting in and out, adding a second lubed finger soon after. _

_ Peter mewled as the thrusting quickened and cried out as Tony found his prostate. Tony grinned as he focused all his attention on stimulating the gland.  _

_ Peter came untouched, spurting all over the duvet, his hands white-knuckle gripping the headboard. Peter was left gasping and panting. He weakly let go of the headboard as Tony’s hands came back to Peter’s wrists and placed them back on the headboard.  _

_ Peter looked confusedly up at Tony.  _

_ “Tony, what are -?” _

_ “We’re not finished. It’s your birthday. That was orgasm one, we still have twenty to go.” _

_ “Wait, what. Tony, no.” Tony started jerking Peter’s overstimulated cock. The younger man cried out from the action. “Tony, please. No more.”  _

_ Tony stopped. “Are you going to be good, Peter? Be a good boy for me?” _

_ Peter screwed his eyes shut and nodded. “Good boy.” And Tony leaned over and kissed Peter. He whined into the kiss.  _

_ Tony broke the kiss and got up from the bed, returning undressed. Sitting behind Peter, re-lubing his fingers and returning to stretching and thrusting into Peter’s sensitive hole. _

_ After getting three fingers into the younger man’s hole, Tony removed his hand and poured a generous amount on his cock. Lining up with Peter’s hole, he pressed forward groaning as Peter hissed at the intrusion. Tony thrust hard into the tight heat. Gripping hard onto Peter’s hips, he pivoted his own into the younger man. Peter’s hole clenched tighter every time Tony found Peter’s prostate.  _

_ “Peter, fuck darling, you’re so tight for me. I’m going to fill you up and keep you so full. No one else can give you this, right?” _

_ “No, Tony. All yours. I’ll always be yours. Fuck, Tony, I love you.”  _

_ Tony came soon after, filling Peter up with hot semen. Tony reached over and grabbed Peter’s hands from the headboard and flipped him to his back to face each other.  _

_ Peter was bright red, his hands instantly sought out Tony's back to hold onto as he chased his own orgasm. Peter came all over his stomach and chest, crying out. The sound was a symphony to Tony’s ears. Tony carefully pulled out and rolled to his back next to Peter, both men panting and tired.  _

_ Peter rolled to his side facing Tony, grabbing Tony’s left hand and placing it over his heart. Peter looked at Tony’s eyes and spoke.  _

_ “I’m yours forever, Tony.” _

Tony jolted from the aftershocks. Panting he looked over at his buzzing phone. He reluctantly answered. 

“What, Nat?”

“Hello, Stark. Did you enjoy Peter’s birthday? Too bad your expensive gift received so little praise. But that's what happens when you don't actually have a relationship with someone.”

“What the fuck do you want, Nat?”

“I’ll cut to the chase. I noticed while I was speaking to May, Peter and Luke snuck off to Peter’s room. And I also noticed not long after that, the fire alarm went off and Luke had his shirt on inside out when he and Peter ran out. Do I even need to ask if you had something to do with the alarm?”

“Where are you going with this? And why are you going to Peter’s apartment now?”

“Because I’m going to help him. And part of that will be removing you from his life. I’m telling you now that I’m removing you from Peter’s life starting next week.”

Tony laughed. “Ha! Yeah right, like you can -”

“I'm going to disconnect your AI first.”

“You can't do that.”

“Oh? What are you going to do about it? I’m sure Peter will be very upset when I ‘accidentally’ break Karen but I'm sure he’ll forget about it when I replace the tablet with one of your competitors. I found how you're connected on his laptop, too. One by one, I’ll remove your influence, Stark. If I have to, I’ll get them to move too. I have a lot of friends who owe me favors. I will protect Peter from you.”

“This isn’t. You can't fucking do this. I fucking paid you to help me.”

“I can and I am. And there’s nothing you can do. Enjoy your lurking for now. It stops Tuesday.” 

The dial tone filled the cell. Tony, overwhelmed, grabbed all the bottles he had and drank all of them, one by one. He laid down, dizzy and drunk, and dragged out the photo that started his obsession. Tony looked at Peter’s picture and held it close as he curled up and succumbed to darkness.

_ Later _

Tony leaned hunched over the cot staring at the wall. Refusing to think or move. The door swung open.

“Yes. Thank you. Please, I need to speak to him alone. No, I’ll be fine. I’m in no danger.”

Charles walked in, his eyes scanning the disheveled cell, falling to Tony’s unkempt appearance. 

Charles walked over to Tony’s bolted desk and sat on the chair facing Tony. Tony refused to acknowledge his old friend.

“Hank told me you skipped the meetings this week.”

Tony said nothing.

“There’s simply no way I can convince him to write a sentence recommendation.”

Tony continued staring at the wall.

“Tony? It smells like a distillery in here. I thought you were getting better. What happened?”

Tony stared on.

“You were pretty adamant about getting out a month ago and now you're  _ this _ . What happened Tony? I can help. Please?”

Charles sighed at Tony’s silence. 

“Well, maybe we can get that motivation back. In six months you have a good chance at release. My wedding will be not long after that. You can look forward to that?” 

Charles’ pleading eyes looked directly at Tony’s.

“I’d rather go to your funeral than your wedding.”

Charles' enthusiasm died immediately. The man slowly stood up and walked towards the door, looking back at Tony.

“Goodbye, Stark.”

Tony squeezed his eyes closed as Charles walked away, the door slamming shut behind him.

Tony reached under his pillow for a glass bottle. Uncapping it, he attempted to pour the last bit of alcohol into his mouth. Only a drop was left. 

Tony stood up quickly, deciding to go find Weasel and buy more. He swiftly moved through the prison, towards the library. He walked the aisles, quickly finding and buying his alcohol. He paid in advance for Weasel to bring more than his usual order. 

Tony walked through the library, moving back to his cell, ready to consume as much alcohol as possible to pass out, when a familiar voice stopped him. 

“Yeah. Fourth floor. Aunt Karen already gave me the passcode.”

Tony moved closer recognizing the voice. 

“Your cousin’s good for this right?”

“You kidding? After he saw the picture he would've killed for this job.”

Tony moved closer seeing two men closely talking. Tony lurched forward grabbing one of the men by the shirt. 

“You! Fucking creep! God damn, fucking rapist bastard.”

“Hey, what the fuck, did I do to you?” Skip yelled back at Tony, trying to wrench Tony’s grip off of him.

“You fucking bastard. It's because of you! You hurt him! You did all of this! I lost him because of you!”

“You’re fucking crazy. Let go of me!”

“Stark! Let go of him.”

The guard grabbed Tony by the arm, wenching him off of Skip. Tony kept his other hand still firmly latched onto the other man.

“Stark! You want a SHOT? Let him the fuck go!” 

Tony reluctantly let go. The guard grabbed Tony’s arm pulling him away and towards his unit. 

“Fuck, Stark. You never did shit before. And don't think I can’t smell the alcohol, you louse. You’re lucky I’m at the end of my shift or I might give a fuck. But honestly, I know there’s no help for addicts like you. “

The guard opened Tony’s cell and slammed it shut, motioning for it to be locked.

“So do the planet a favor and drink yourself to death and fuck off being everyone’s problem.”

Tony drank until he passed out.

_ Next day _

Tony awoke with a painful hangover and an alert sound coming from his phone. He groggily grabbed the phone and turned it off, flipping it over screen down and attempting to fall back to sleep. 

The sound started back up immediately. Annoyed, Tony grabbed the phone and turned it on, sobering up at the sight. 

He had an abundance of emergency messages from Karen but what shocked Tony was the tablet camera view. 

On-screen was what looked like Luke, facedown on the floor, blood pooling around his head. A man was locking the apartment door. And at the center of the living room was a pale, shaking Peter staring at Luke’s body as a tall large man held Peter close to him. 

The man’s large hand was groping and touching Peter. He stopped and pulled hard on Peter’s hair. Grabbing the teen painfully by the hair and half dragging him, looking over to the other man.

"Which hole you want to fuck first?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So heads up chapter 10 "The damage a man can do" is going to be short and dark. So heed them tags.  
> SkippyJo94 was nice enough to edit.  
> Comments give me life.


	10. The damage a man can do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this chapter is short and alone because I wanted to give people a chance to skip because I know there are some things that people might really not be into for this chapter. So TWs - rape, homophobic language, and sexual violence that involves a body part being bitten off. It is a skippable chapter if you can't read it.

“Well look at this! Two for one deal.”

A large man moved into the apartment; close behind was a shorter man. The shorter man began speaking. “Shit Jay, stick with the plan.”

“Calm down. Plan is still going.” He smirked at Peter and started walking towards him. 

“Let’s just get some extra.”

“Hey! Don’t touch him!” Luke ran towards the taller man and failed to punch him. The taller man avoided the lunge. 

“Oh, look at this cunt in shining armor, coming to the rescue!” The taller man swung hard and Luke’s head made a painful _thunk_ as it connected with a side table corner. Peter gasped as the older teen slunk to the floor, unmoving, a halo of blood quickly forming. 

“Fuck, we didn’t even check if he’s the fucking target.” The shorter man pulled out a phone and bent over Luke, moving his face to the cell phone screen. The taller man grabbed on to Peter, his hands feeling up the teen.

“Well?”

“Yeah, it’s him. We were paid to send a message to the kid that you just knocked out cold.” The shorter man got up and started looking around at the other rooms.

“Well, hold up. Who says this isn’t sending a message? And fuck that skinny creep and his plan. When I was his unit, that bitch never shut the fuck up about this one’s mouth.”

The taller man stopped groping Peter and grabbed the teen painfully by the hair, half dragging him. 

“Which hole you want to fuck first?”

“What about the plan? Don’t fuck me out of my money.”

“Look, part of the _plan_ was to send a message, beat the shit out of the fags, and to make the one with the sweet cunt remember that someone owns him. _This_ is still the plan. We’re just getting an extra tip. So, easy hole or the one that fights back? Or are you really saying I get this all to myself? Like it’s my birthday?” 

The taller man dragged Peter up, painfully showing his face to the other man. The shorter man looked at Peter earnestly and considered.

“Well, one hole has teeth.”

“Ha! Fuck, no worries about it. I mean, look at this pussy. Not fighting at all. Just shaking like a little girl. Fuck all, he’s all small and skinny, he might be. Come on, sweet mouth.” 

The man dragged Peter along with him, crudely kicking the coffee table away and plopping down on the couch, spreading his legs wide. He threw Peter onto his lap and gripped his face, looking at the teen. 

“I can’t fucking believe that pussy got to fuck you.”

The other man was walking the apartment, examining various items.

“Got him young too, remember?” The shorter man spoke while he examined the tablet.

“Ugh, yeah, that’s right. Didn’t give him time to ripen properly. Hey.” The man gave a hard slap to Peter’s face. The boy barely responded. The man started laughing. “Well look at that! We’ve been sent a fucking docile bitch!” 

“Barely responded. I think you broke your new toy, Jay.”

The taller man, still laughing, grabbed at Peter’s nipples, pulling and twisting hard. The teen cried and screwed his face up.

“Well, that’s more of what I like.” He roughly cupped Peter’s crotch. “It's a boy! I mean, kinda, pretty small there, princess.” Peter convulsed and looked away from the man groping him. 

The other man spoke. “How much do you think the knocked out kid used him?”

“Well, let’s find out. Why don't you show me what that mouth can do?” The man held a punishing grip in Peter’s hair, pushing him to the floor and in between his legs. He opened his legs wide and unzipped his jeans. The man yanked Peter’s hair and shoved his face to his penis. “Now I know you’re used to that skinny creep’s cock and whatever small thing the bleeder is packing, but this is a proper man’s cock and I want you to suck and lick and I swear, if I feel any teeth, I’ll make you regret it.”

Peter nodded numbly and began sucking the head. The man groaned. “Oh, fuck.”

“What?”

“Fuck, he’s sucking like a good bitch. Fucking Hell, can’t believe that creep actually got head like this regularly. Here, I was expecting to mouth fuck it. Stop watching me, Arth, go fill the other hole.”  
  


“Fine, fine” The other man walked up behind Peter and kicked him. “Hey, fag, get your ass in the air. Now.”

Peter slowly moved back, removing his mouth from the other man who immediately brought Peter’s head back to his cock, forcing the teen to swallow to the root.

“Hey, don’t take my cocksucker away from me.” The man on the couch bent down, reaching with the hand not holding Peter’s head down, and lifted his waist till his knees were spread out and ass up. 

“There.”

The other man looked Pete over. “Eh, there’s no curves to hold onto. All skin and bones.” The man tsked as he aggressively seized Peter’s cheeks, laughing at the teen’s startled noise. 

“Fuck, he sucked harder when you did that. Do it again. Play with him, I want to hear all those sweet sounds that creep moaned about.” 

The man began to move his hand to Peter’s front, rubbing his crotch but giving up soon from the lack of response.

“Poor thing can’t get it up. It’s like rubbing a doll.”

“Oh yeah?”

The man on the couch wrenched Peter off his cock, spit dragging from the man’s penis to Peter’s puffy lips. The man leered down as he looked at Peter’s face. 

“It’s got dead eyes. Bet he’d let us do anything without complaint at this point. Even.” 

The man took his hard erection with one hand and pulled Peter by the hair, closer, and slapped Peter across the mouth with his erection. Laughing gleefully as the teen gave zero reactions. 

“Look at that! Fucking wonderful, we have ourselves a perfect fuck hole.”

The other man that was behind Peter moved to get a better look as the man slapped Peter’s face. 

“Shit. Fuck the creep’s message, lets just take him with us fuck the other half of the money.” The man on the couch suddenly shoved Peter back on his cock. “I’m so close. You better swallow it all, cunt. I want you to keep all of me in that mouth of yours.”

“You know, I really wouldn’t mind fucking over that creepy, small dick, weirdo. Fuck that guy.”

The man holding Peter down groaned. “I can’t believe our luck. That fucking creep, Skip, calls me out of the blue to scare his favorite cunt to behave and his faggy boyfriend to fuck off and I get the best blowjob of my life! Fuck, I can’t wait to slide into the other hole and AHHHhhhhhh” The man screamed, flailing his arms at Peter. 

Peter fell back and spit something bloody and meaty at the man’s face.

The other man yelled in terror, seeing his accomplice’s lap quickly covered in blood. 

“What the fuck happened!?”

“The fucking cunt has teeth and it bit my cock off! I’m going to fucking kill it!” 

The bleeding man pulled his jeans back up, the front quickly growing wet with blood. The man sprang towards Peter who moved out of the way to evade the larger man. The shorter accomplice attempted to corner Peter but a _thunk_ sound throughout the apartment stopped all movement. 

The other man and Peter followed the noise as the shorter man crumpled to the floor. Above him was May with a baseball bat held up, ready to hit again. The taller man, in his anger, started to move towards the woman when Peter pushed the man as hard as he could. The man fell to the floor with a huff and May brought the bat down hard onto the man’s skull. 

Panting, May looked at Peter’s eyes darting all around the room. The woman ran towards him and fell to the floor, dragging Peter to the furthest corner from the men. 

Peter openly wept and cried as he buried his head in May’s chest. May clutched Peter as hard as she could, looking all over the apartment, tears coming to her eyes as loud stomping came closer. 

“Police!” May spoke up as the officers carefully walked in.  
  


“Help him.” She spoke quietly as Peter clung onto her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope yall like my fic so far, I know we're heading towards the end. Stay tuned for the next chapter - Chapter 11 is another Peter chapter.  
> For whatever reason, I imagined the two men as Billy butcher and Frenchie from "the boys"
> 
> comments give me life  
> SkippyJo94 edited


	11. I promise you I'm not broken I promise you there's more (Peter)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> only 5k but I hope I didn't scare everyone away from the last chapter.

“- Peter. Peter? Peter?” A hand waved in front of Peter’s face. 

Peter startled into awareness. “Y-yes, sorry. What’s next? And what happens with the- the men?” 

Peter looked over to his bedroom door frame. May was nervously looking from the police officer back to Peter. It took over an hour for the police to convince May to let Peter go. Even now she wouldn't allow Peter more than a few feet away. Every few minutes Peter could hear May curse and say “Fucking Skip.” The policewoman looked over her notes. 

“The two assailants had to go to the hospital for their injuries. And I think we’re done here. We need to go to the hospital and get you tested.”

“Tested?”

“Yes, you were exposed to bodily fluids? You’ll need to be tested and we’re providing a hotel voucher for tonight.”

“I-I- I- I- I wasn’t exposed to anything.”

The policewoman looked confusedly at Peter and looked over at the closet mirror in the bedroom. She pointed to her face than to the mirror, motioning to Peter to look at his mouth. Peter looked over and drew a breath in sharply. 

He had a large bloodstain on the bottom half of his mouth. He began wiping at his mouth furiously with his shirt, quickly growing hysterical. May ran in and stopped his hands. 

“Honey, go wash your face. I need to speak to the officer.” 

Peter numbly nodded and walked into the bathroom. As he passed the entryway to the living room, he looked at how, in the several hours since the police arrived, the apartment was still in disarray. The police were still milling around cataloging and collecting evidence. Peter grew pale seeing the large puddle of blood on the floor. He wasn’t sure who it belonged to. 

Peter swallowed and walked into the bathroom, noticing the dried blood on his mouth and neck. He took a washcloth and attacked his mouth and neck frantically scrubbing the skin raw. He finally stopped when his hands shaking couldn’t hold the washcloth. 

He dropped the cloth and looked at himself in the mirror. He was panting, shaking, and pale. He looked pathetic. He felt pathetic. Peter willed himself to stop shaking and walked back out. The policewoman and May were talking.

Peter took a shaky breath when a voice caught his attention. “Peter? May?” Natasha was looking frantic as she searched the apartment. Hurried clicking of heels were making their way to the two Parkers. She grabbed Peter’s shoulder, seizing him up, concern still clear on her face.

“Peter? How are you? May called me and told me what happened”

“I’m fine. I’m good. Nothing happened to me.”

Natasha looked to May, confused. May brought her hand up and spoke. 

“I have to finish here but please use Peter’s room and go talk.”

Natasha and Peter walked into the room. 

“Peter, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Ms.Natasha. I’m worried about Luke, but the paramedics said he looked fine and just got knocked out. Can- Can you please visit him for me? Please?”

“I will Peter but I’m worried about you. I think you're in shock. Please, you can go as slow as you like, just please tell me.”

“There’s nothing to tell, Ms.Natasha. One guy just grabbed me some. I’m fine. The guy told me to suck him off and I did. But I’m fine. I’ve done it loads of times with _him_ and it’s not a big deal; I’m _fine_. I’m just really worried about Luke.”

“Peter, you were sexually assaulted. This is a traumatic event and this isn’t fine.”

“But I am fine. I can deal with this. I’m fine really.”

“Who were the men? Did you know them?”

“They were - they were sent by _him_. By Skip. They said so and I don’t know, I just, like, I couldn’t do it anymore. I bit down on the guy as hard as I could and I spit it back at his face.”

“You bit a man’s penis off?”

“Yes. And spit it back in his stupid face.”

“And how does that make you feel?”

“Great. I feel fine. Nothing is wrong.

“That’s- I’m sorry, I don’t know how to respond to that. And then did you call the police? May said she received a frantic phone call from a man saying you needed help.”

“No, I didn’t get the chance. May came in with a bat and soon after, the police ran in. I don’t know who called the police. I guess a neighbor?”

“I, um, I need to make a phone call. I’m sorry, Peter, I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Okay, Ms. Natasha.”

As the woman left, May entered the bedroom. “Peter. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, May.”

“Great. Good. The police are leaving here soon. I thought we could order something and eat here or in my bedroom? Since, you know, the living room’s still a mess.”

“Okay, May.”

Natasha walked in wiping her eyes.

“Hello May, how are you?”

“As well as I can be, given the situation. We decided on eating in for dinner tonight and making it a picnic in here. Would you like to join?”

“I’m sorry, I would love to but I have some things I have to do now. But Peter? Please, call or text me. Anytime, okay? I’ll be available to you.”

“Yes, Ms.Natasha. Thank you for coming over.”

_Later_

The Parker’s picked at their dinner on the bedroom floor. Peter attempted to gather their plates, when May stopped him. 

“Peter, no. I can handle this. It’s still a mess out there. I don't want you seeing that.”

“I’m fine, May, I can handle it.”

“No.” She spoke firmly. “I don’t want you in there till it’s been cleaned and righted. And I want you to take everything easy and slow. The hospital gave me time off for two weeks to be here with you, and I already contacted your school. You won’t be assigned any work this week.”

“But May I’m -”

“No. No, Peter, you will -” sharp intake of breath. “Peter, just listen to me on this, okay? Just, please? It’s been an awful day, just please, I can’t, I can’t” She began tearing up.

“May? I’ll listen, okay? I’ll do what you say.” Peter placated the woman. 

“Good.” She nodded wearily. “It’s getting late. You should go to bed soon.”

That night, Peter sighed at the ceiling. He scrubbed his face, exhausted. Looking over at his table clock, he saw the numbers glaring at him: **2:45 AM**. He sighed again. 

He got up and started walking towards the kitchen for water when the noise from the living room stopped him. He paused and looked. May was on her hands and knees, angrily scrubbing at a bloodstain on the hardwood floor. She angrily spoke under her breath. 

“Come off. Come off, you fucking- Christ!” In frustration, she threw the scrub brush and began weeping into her hands. Softly crying, Peter strained his ears to listen. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Fuck you, Skip.”

Peter shakily walked back, softly closing his bedroom door. He didn't sleep that night.

_Next morning_

Peter stared red-eyed at the clock. Minutes until 7 AM. Peter got up from the bed and got dressed. He quietly walked down the hallway, peeking in at a sleeping May. 

He walked into the living room and everything had been cleaned and put back in it’s place during the night. He noticed the bloodstains color had decreased greatly. The police tape was taken down. He stood in front of the apartment door and took a shaky breath. He brought his phone out and called Natasha.

“Peter?”

“Good morning, Ms. Natasha. I'm ready to resume my daily therapy exercises. I’m sorry I didn’t do any last night.”

“That’s alright, Peter. But I don’t think we should resume exercises for the time being. You just suffered a major traum -”

“I’m ready. I’m fine. I want to stick with the plan. Remember, today we’re supposed to make it to the mailbox outside? I’m ready.”

“Okay, Peter. Let’s start. Are you outside of your apartment?”

“N-no, not yet.”

“Alright well, let's begin.”

“Okay.” And nothing. Peter reached for the handle and couldn’t will himself to turn the doorknob. He drew his hand back.

“Peter?”

“I’m fine. I can do this.” Peter became dizzy. 

“Peter, we don't have to do this today. I’m coming over tomorrow”

“No, I want to leave, I want to be normal, I can do this.”

A sleepy voice entered the room. “Peter, what are you doing? Peter?” Peter looked away from the door at an exhausted May who was rushing over and plucking the phone from Peter’s hand. “Hello? Hey Nat. I’m sorry but I don’t want Peter to do his exercises for the time being. Yes, thank you I’ll see you tomorrow. Here say goodbye Peter.”

Peter took the phone back. “Ms. Natasha?”

“Peter, we will talk later. I think you should listen to May for now. Please, just try to feel better. I’ll see you tomorrow; I’m going to visit Luke in a few hours. Goodbye”

Peter closed the call and looked at his exhausted aunt. 

“Peter, what do you think you’re doing?”

“I was going to do my exercises?”

“I want you to stay here for the time being.”

“May I’m -”

“Peter!” May began tearing up. “Peter, I want - I need you to stay here, okay? Just do that for me?”

“Yes, May.”

She exhaled. “Good, now you look tired. Go back to bed. I will too.”

Peter walked back to his room with May at his heels. Peter climbed back into the bed as May watched from the door and closed it partially. Peter waited, listening for the sounds of his aunt returning to bed. He took his phone back out and began typing a message to Luke. 

**I hope you’re better** and erased the message. **I miss you** and backed it over. 

**I’m sorry.** And sent. 

_Later_

Peter picked at his food. May had brought him a plate for a late lunch and he sat at his desk, picking at the sandwich. 

“Peter? I have to run down to the laundry room, okay? I’ll be back in real quick.” 

“Okay, May.” 

“Call me if you need me.”

“Yes. I will.”

May reluctantly moved away and out the door. Peter sighed at the half-eaten plate and got up. He walked the living room, looking at how everything was just like it was the morning before. A knocking at the door startled him. Shakily, he walked over. Looking through the eye hole, he found an older man. Peter swallowed and slowly unlocked the door but kept the chain on. 

“Hello?”

“Peter Parker?”

“Y-yes?”

“I’m Dennis Scott. Luke’s grandfather. I want to talk to you.”

“Oh.”

Peter quickly closed the door and undid the lock chain, re-opening the door to the older man. 

“Is-is Luke okay? How is he?”

“He’s fine. He’ll be out tomorrow. No brain damage, just a few stitches. But that’s not why I’m here. I want you to never see him again.”

“What?”

“He’s injured because of you. This all this is because of you. Because you tempted him. He’s being punished because of you.”

“I don't understand. I- I- I like Luke. Why -”

“I brought him here to keep a good eye on him and I won't let him go astray again. Stay away. I won’t say it again boy.”

“I’m sorry sir but I don't think you can tell me -”

“I know what you are. I don't know why your _kind_ keep trying to lure my grandson to this.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Keep your faggot hands away from my grandson!”

Peter started shaking. He receded back into himself and began to walk back into the apartment when the man continued.

“I won't let him succumb to this. So keep your fairy hands off of him, you fag-”

“The fuck did you say?!” Peter looked up from the floor, tears spilling from his eyes. May was running from the stairs and pushing her way between Peter and the man.

“What the fuck are you doing to him!?”

“Ma'am, this is between me and him.” He pointed at Peter. “You better keep away from him. It’s all your fault for being a sinner.”

And turned around and headed back out to the stairs. May began to run after the man, yelling. 

“Who the fuck do you think you are?! I’ll -” She looked back at the door seeing it void of Peter and rushed inside. Peter was sitting on the floor, his back to the wall and breathing hard, rubbing his eyes.

“Peter? Hey, hey, hey. It’s alright.” May rapidly slammed the front door and fell to the floor in front of him.

“I'm so sorry. I’m so sorry. I shouldn't have left. Please, Peter, it’ll be alright.”

“Did - Did you know who that was?”

May nodded. “Yes, I’ve met him before. He’s Luke’s grandfather. Peter, I’m so sorry. I promise that dick won't come near you again.”

Peter rubbed at his eyes. “It’s fine, May. I’m fine. He’s just... he just cares about Luke. I do, too. It’ll be fine when he comes back from the hospital.”

“Peter, I don't think you should see him again.”

“Why not? Luke tried to protect me; he cares about me. It’ll be fine. I’m fine, May.” Peter spoke sharply as he got up.

“Peter, are you really alright? You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine. I’m just tired. Luke will be back tomorrow and it’ll be fine.”

“If you can’t sleep, we have some liquid Benadryl. You -”

“No!” Peter raised his voice. He looked at May’s concerned face and softened. “It’s fine. I can handle it. Just leave me alone.” Peter quickly turned and walked to his room, away from his aunt and further away from all discussion. He took out his phone and began texting.

**Hey, I heard you're back soon. I can’t wait to see the scar. Remember, I’m into scars?**

Peter deleted the message and tried again.

**I hope you're better. I hope to see you soon. I’m sorry about what happened** **.**

Peter hit send. 

_Later_

Peter picked at his dinner. May had deemed the kitchen and living room sanitized of the incident enough to eat at the kitchen table. May rubbed her exhausted eyes and yawned into her plate. 

“Natasha said she’d be here tomorrow for your therapy appointment. I’ll be in the living room to give you two privacy.”

“Yes, May.” 

“Peter? If you can’t sleep again tonight, I think you should tell Nat. She might prescribe you something that can help.”

“Yes, May.”

“Are you excited about your first in-person session? Remember, I’ll be close by in case you need me. I’ll be right here and -”

“May, I get it. You’ll be here. I know.” Peter snapped.

“Alright, Peter just -”

“I get it.” Peter leapt from the table and started towards his bedroom.

“Peter? Come back; you barely ate!”

“I'm not hungry, May,” Peter called back before shutting his door forcefully.

He paced his room restlessly before his eyes fell to his laptop, a message waiting for him. He dashed forward, hoping it was from Luke. Instead, it was from Ned. 

Peter couldn't hide his disappointment. Ned’s message was requesting a video call. Peter accepted and immediately the screen had his oldest friend’s concerned face. Peter felt a pang of guilt for being disappointed it was Ned and not Luke.

“Hey, Peter. How are you since, you know, the thing that happened?”

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

“Anything from Luke?”

“He’s getting out tomorrow. He just had to get some stitches.”

“That's great, right? Seeing him when he gets back, right?”

“I don't know. He hasn't texted or called me yet.”

“That's - that’s okay. I mean it’s so hard to get a connection at hospitals after all. I mean, I'm sure he just wants to surprise you once he’s back. It’ll be great.”

“Yeah.”

“The club missed you today at the meeting. Um, everyone loved your party. It was really great. We can't wait to have you back.”

“Yeah.”

“You okay?”

“I'm just tired. I don't know, I think I might do some tech support tonight since I can't sleep.”

“You should set up your 3d printer you got.”

“Yeah, I will soon. I can’t believe Flash got me that.”

“Oh, no, he didn't. Liv cornered him. I think she was worried he really bullied you with an apology like that. She told us today he brought a gift card to your party.” 

“Then who -” Peter rubbed his head. A strong headache was coming over. “You know what? I don't care. It doesn't matter.”

“You don't look too good Peter. I’ll let you go. Just call or message me if you need to, alright?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Ned.” Ned logged off and Peter stared at his own face looking back at him from the black screen. He looked awful. He scrubbed his face and exhaled. A soft knocking sounded at the door. May’s face came into view.

“Peter? Hey, I had a bunch of your favorite snacks and foods ordered and delivered. I know you didn't eat much at dinner, so just when you get hungry, eat anything, okay honey?”

“Yes, May.”

“Good, good. I’ll check in on you before bed.”

May took slow steps back, carefully leaving the door partially opened. Peter scrubbed his face exasperated. Taking his phone out he began texting Luke.

**Hey, how’s the hospital food? When you get back we’ll have to order something good.**

And sent. A red text came back immediately. 

**Your text cannot be sent.**

Peter stared at the red text. He hit to resend his message and the red text came back. He started texting **Testing 1 2 3** . And the red text glared back “ **Your text cannot be sent.** "

Panicking, Peter started texting Ned. 

**Hey, somethings wrong with my phone. Can you see my texts?**

Ned responded immediately.

**Yeah, I can see them. Why? What's your phone doing?**

**It keeps saying “Your text cannot be sent,” when I’m trying to text someone.**

**Oh sorry, that means the other person blocked you.**

Peter stared at the phone in disbelief. He went back to his texts to Luke and attempted to resend the texts. The “ **Cannot send** ” message continued to glare at him. Tearing up, Ned’s text message popped up. 

**Are you ok? You can talk to me. I can get on my laptop and we can video call?**

Peter felt dizzy and a headache was coming on. He started to text back. 

**No, it’s fine. It was nothing. I just had to restart my phone. Thanks.**

Peter turned his phone off and tossed it away from him. He fell onto his bed and buried his face into his pillow. May entered the room. 

“Peter? I'm going to bed. I just wanted to check on you before I turn in and to see if you needed anything.”

Peter gave a muffled answer in return.

“What's that, Peter? What's wrong?” 

Peter could hear the woman come into the room and approach Peter. Peter angrily jumped up and snapped, “It’s fine, May. I’m fine, I don't need anything. Just let me sleep!” 

He reburied his face into his pillow. May was taken aback and tearfully spoke.

**“** Alright, Peter. I’ll see you in the morning. Sweet dreams hon.”

Peter heard May’s soft walking out the door and into her room. Peter felt his eyes prickle with tears and rubbed his face into the pillow, choking back a sob.

_Next day_

Peter rubbed his face, staring at the computer screen. He had another night of nearly no sleep and it was wearing him down. 

“Peter, come out here.”

Peter sighed as he followed May’s voice. May was weakly smiling up at Peter from the couch with a bowl of popcorn in her lap. 

“Hey, Nat won't be here till later. I figured we could have a fun, mid-morning family movie time? Wouldn't that be fun?” Her voice shook with desperation. Peter nodded and walked over, choosing to sit in the side chair and not on the couch. May looked at him in confusion. 

“The couch is more comfortable, Peter.”

“I don't want to sit on the couch.”

“Oh come on, it’ll be like when we all used to sit and watch movies, you, me, and Ben. Come over here, it’ll be fun.”

“I don't want to sit on the couch, May.”

“Well, why not?”

“Because last time I was on it, I bit a guy’s junk off.” 

May gasped and leapt off the couch, popcorn falling and scattering all over the floor. May looked at the offending piece of furniture. With a shaky voice, she spoke. 

“This one is so old. I think we’re due for a new one.”

Peter rubbed his face again, feeling so tired of just everything. May quickly cleaned the popcorn up and avoided looking at the couch. Returning to the living room with drinks she took a seat on the other side chair and brought up a family movie on the tv. 

Peter stared at the screen, not really paying any attention to it. Halfway through, May’s phone was buzzing with text messages. The woman took the phone out and her brows furrowed as she read. 

“Somethings going on downstairs. Mr. Canaria says I should come down and see.”

May got up and looked at Peter. “I’ll go down and be back really quick, okay?”

“Yes, May.” 

“Yeah, just stay here, okay? Don't open the door. I mean, only if you know the person, okay? I’ll be back soon; just a quick peek and I’ll be back.”

“It’s fine, May!”

May looked at Peter dejectedly and walked to and out of the door. Before leaving, she took a last sad look at Peter, then closed and locked the door behind her. Peter let out an annoyed breath. 

He got up and turned the movie off. He went back to his room, irrationally angry. Looking at the time, he couldn’t wait for Nat’s first in-house session. He wanted it to come sooner. Nat had promised that she would see Luke and he wanted answers. He could hear the front door lock jiggle and then May walking in. 

“Peter?” The hurried movement could be heard. “Peter!”

Peter grew annoyed. “In here, May! I just went to my room.”

May’s panicked face showed up in the door frame. Peter sat down at his desk in a huff.

“Oh fuck, God, Peter, I was worried.”

“I’m still _here._ It’s not like I left the apartment, May. What happened downstairs?”

“Ms. Peterson. She’s getting evicted. She was making a big fuss about it.”

Peter started up his laptop, giving no response. May continued. “Good riddance, I say. We don't need someone like that here. Fucking Skip’s -”

“May. I really want to look over my notes for when I go back to school. Can you just leave me alone?”

“Yeah sorry, Peter. I’ll be nearby. Just in the living room and -”

“I got it.”

Peter refused to look at her face. He knew he was hurting her by talking to her like this. But he was just so tired. Peter looked at the notes Ned had sent him from their shared classes. He stared at the immense classwork already accumulated on his 2nd day out.

Looking at the calculus work alone, he would need to email his teacher for help. Peter sighed, considering calling Mr. Anthony again. A knock at the door caught his attention. Natasha gingerly pushed the door open, a weary smile appearing as she looked at Peter. 

“Hello, Peter. Ready for your first session?”

“We’ve had sessions before.”

Peter got up from his chair and brought over another chair that May had placed in the room earlier in the day for the upcoming appointment.

“Yes but this is our first in-house session and I believe it will feel different than our others.”

“Okay.”

“So, let's talk. Where do you want to begin?”

“Did you see Luke?”

“I did. He’s fine. No issues from the injury. But I think we should focus on other things before we get to that.”

“What other things?”

“Peter, you're not looking very well. Are you sleeping?”

“I sleep and I wake up and only five minutes went by and I fall back to sleep and I wake up and I wake up again after a few minutes and it’s been like for the last two nights.”

“I see. I can prescribe a mild sleep aid. And are you eating?”

“Not really.”

“And how are you and May?”

“She’s... she won't leave me alone. And it’s like she thinks I'm going to break at any second.”

“You were in a traumatic situation, and she found you in the middle of it.. It’s understandable if she’s feeling a little clingy over you.”

“I’m fine. It was just a blow job. Like I haven't given a ton of them before. I didn't break after Skip did it and I’m not breaking now. So, can we talk about Luke now?” 

Natasha sighed and reached into her purse, bringing out a white envelope. 

“I have something from him to you.”

“Great.” Peter reached for the envelope but Natasha had a firm hold on it. She looked directly at Peter’s eyes. 

“I don't think you should read this. Not yet. I think you should save it for when you are more stable.”

Peter tugged at the envelope harder.

”Did you read it?”

“I did. And I think it’s better, in my opinion, if you wait.”

“It’s mine, right? He wrote it for me. I want to read it now.”

Nat reluctantly released it and Peter greedily reached in and brought the handwritten letter out.

  
  
  
  


_Dear Peter_

_As I write, I already feel regret for what I have to say. I’m not sure how to express my regrets and feelings. Dr. Natasha demanded I give you answers and is currently, as I write, glaring at me from across my hospital room. I can’t see you again. I won’t see you again. I thought we could have an amazing time and be happy and everything would be great, but when I was hurt by the men in your apartment, I realized as I laid there that this was a punishment for being with you. It was a sin to be with you and I knew it. My priest visited me when I woke up and, after speaking to him, I know that I care about you, but I’m not willing to go to Hell for you. I hope you forgive me. I’m sorry._

  * _Luke_



Peter felt his hands shake as he finished reading. His eyes prickled from tears unshed. Natasha spoke calmly. 

“Peter? I know this is a lot to deal with and I think we should work on how to cope with all these situations. How are you feeling?”

“I want to end the session.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said I could end my sessions early or late if I wanted. I want to end the session _now._ ”

“Peter, I really think we should talk about this and -”

“No. I’m saying no. Or are you going to just force shit on me like everyone else now too?”

Nat blinked at Peter’s harsh words and gathered her purse as she stood up she spoke.

“You may contact me at any time and I will be there for you, but I have one thing I want to close this session with. This isn't my advice as a therapist, but rather from one survivor to another. Forget about him. Forget everything awful ever happened. It will shock you how much it never happened. Don't ever look back.”

Peter looked away, feeling his eyes moisten. Nat walked out of the room and closed the door with a soft click. Peter could hear the low sounds of May and Nat speaking. He looked at the letter and began sobbing. 

_Later_

Peter stared at the ceiling. He hadn’t moved in hours. May knocked as she entered. 

“Peter? It’s dinner time. What do you want? We can have anything you want.”

Peter turned away and was facing the wall opposite from the door.

“Peter? I know you're upset. But please eat. I can bring it to you if you like? Peter?”

May reached out to touch Peter’s shoulder. Peter violently flinched away, looking back at May in anger. 

“I’m not hungry.”

“Peter -”

“No. Leave me alone, May. That's what I want. I want to be left alone. Stop checking on me every five minutes and just leave me alone.” Peter went back to facing the wall.

May shakily spoke. “Okay, Peter. Nat gave me your prescription. I’ll just go out and fill it, okay? I love you.”

He could hear a choked back sob as May left the room. 

_Next day_

Peter glared at the laptop screen. It was difficult reading the notes Ned wrote. He had another sleepless night of tossing and turning. That morning May was attempting to give him space, but Peter could feel her eyes on his every movement. The worry over him not eating, not sleeping, not coping, just not doing well at all.

Peter scrubbed his face, trying to decipher what he needed help on when May’s voice echoed throughout the apartment. 

“Peter! Peter come here!”

Peter ran out of his room and to the living room. May and Natasha were standing next to each other. May was looking panicky back and forth between the teen and the Doctor. Natasha placed her arm on May to calm her as she spoke softly to the other woman. 

“May? Maybe I should tell him?”

“No. No, I should. I want to.”

“Tell me what?” Peter’s growing confusion was causing him distress. 

May turned to Peter and cleared her throat and looked directly at Peter. 

“Skip’s dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited by the amazing SkippyJo94  
> Comments give me life.


	12. Some poisons you can't vomit up (Tony)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are. The chapter with the death of the second most requested to be murdered character.

Tony watched the amber liquid flow into the toilet from the glass container. Nearby on the bolted desk laid his phone. On-screen was May, clutching onto Peter. Since she had found the teen she refused to unlatch. The police had conducted their interview with Peter as May clamped onto him. Peter was shockingly calm during the entire process. 

Tony continued to watch quietly and gathered all the liquor the cell contained. As soon as the police entered the residence, Tony had made up his mind and started to pour all the alcohol out. He had failed Peter. He wouldn’t fail him again. 

After all the alcohol had been disposed of, he texted a few threatening messages to Weasel telling him to never provide him with alcohol again and that he would pay more to ensure his new sobriety. 

Now with the cell depleted of liquor, Tony sat silently and watched the police investigation. Tony cringed every time he saw Peter with his mouth still bloodied from the attack. He already had the two criminals’ names and records. He knew it was only a matter of time until a certain Russian woman would be asking for the information. The police finally convinced May to unlatch from Peter. 

The woman refused to allow Peter out of her sight. Both Parkers were so shaken and pale. Tony was considering his options to offer his help. He made quick work of messaging Happy to arrange paid leave for May. Then, to start the process of evicting Skip’s aunt from the apartment building. Tony didn’t need to be a genius to figure out who had provided Skip with the door’s security code. 

Tony seethed with anger, thinking of how Skip was able to hurt Peter all the way from behind steel and locked bars. His attention was brought back to the screen when Peter left the police and May to wash the blood from his face. 

An alert from the front door of the apartment building caught his attention. He switched cameras to see Nat hurriedly rushing into the building, taking two steps at a time up to the Parker’s residence. 

Seeing her this frantic was a shock. Tony thought nothing could rattle the woman. Tony watched the careful way the woman looked over Peter. He moved to the bedroom web camera. Tony figured the former rules of him not watching anymore were out the window now. Peter’s eerie calmness when describing the events to Nat greatly concerned him. 

“I, um, I need to make a phone call. I’m sorry, Peter, I’ll be back in a minute.”

Tony steeled himself for what he knew was coming. As soon as the woman was out of the apartment, she was dialing Tony.

“Hello, Nat.”

“Did you call the police?”

“I did.”

“Why did you call May?”

“The police response time was slowed. I took a calculated risk to help Peter sooner.”

“Do you know where the men are? The ones that did this?”

“And why would you want that information?”

“You know why. For the same reason, I’m guessing Skip won’t be around much longer either? Am I right?”

“You are. I’ll take care of this end here, while you take care of those two. How’s... How’s Peter?”

“I don’t think he’s doing well. I think he’s in shock.”

“You’ll take care of him?”

“I will.”

“I’ll send you the information you need today.”

“Thank you. Make sure it hurts. No half measures, Stark.”

The woman hung up. Tony watched as Nat, May, and Peter conversed while the police cleared the apartment, already feeling a headache coming on.

_ Later _

Tony’s headache was borderline unbearable. His hand had a slight tremor as he held the phone watching Peter pick at his dinner with May. Tony started making a list of Peter’s favorite foods to be delivered to the apartment over the next few days. May, being so frazzled, would probably think she ordered the food. 

Peter still had a calmness that unnerved Tony. He kept a watchful eye on the teen. Even that night Tony watched Peter toss and turn in bed unable to settle enough to doze off.

Tony finally succumbed to an uncomfortable sleep himself.

  
  


_ Next day _

Tony’s eyes were on fire. He was sweating despite the cell being cool, and his head was pounding. He rubbed his eyes as his phone began buzzing. He instantly reached for it and answered in fear of another situation where Peter was in trouble.

“Stark.”

“Nat? What’s wrong? Is Peter -”

“Peter, to my knowledge, is fine. Well, physically at least. He seems to have backtracked on some of his therapy. I’m calling to touch base on your side.”

“What do you mean 'backtracked?'”

“He was starting to have a panic attack even thinking of leaving the apartment. He backslid on his progress.”

“Isn’t that bad?”

“It’s honestly expected given the circumstances. This week I’ll have to get him back on track. Now, what’s going on from your side?”

“I’m getting up to talk to a guy. Skip won’t be a problem much longer.”

“Good.”

Tony used all his energy to get up from the bed. The room began spinning as he attempted to stand. He had to run to the toilet and vomit. There was nothing in his stomach so he vomited up neon yellow bile. The smell alone made Tony want to puke again. He rinsed his mouth at the attached sink and made his way to the man that could help him. Tony shakily walked the unit until he saw Wade. He approached the other inmate. 

“Wade. I need to talk to you.”

“Oh wow, Stark, miss a few meetings and suddenly show up looking like the whore the rest of the trailer park finally decided to stone to death. Why are you sweating so much?”

“Wade, I need to talk to you. Come here.” 

Tony led the other man to a discrete alcove.

“Wow, cozy, and intimate. Now praytell, what do you want? Or is this where you confess your love for me?”

“Do you remember when AA and NA had to combine for a session? And that creep had to be taken out of the room?”

“Yes?”

“I need help. I need help from you to kill him.”

“I am just shocked and appalled that you would think I would participate in such a thing. Me, killing someone. And do tell, what sin has Skip committed to earn your wrath? Cut you in the food line? Sit in front of you during movie night? Take the last muffin?”

“He raped someone close to me, Wade.”

“You have my full attention.”

“He’s here for raping a child, remember? I know the kid. And yesterday, Skip sent someone to re-rape him as a message. Skip can’t stay alive.”

“Who’s the kid to  _ you _ ?”

“He’s...my nephew. Peter. Will you help me?”

“Why would you come to me of all people, Stark?”

“For fuck’s sake, Wade, I know why you’re here. After we met, you irritated me so much I looked up your record.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just here for the food and fun.”

“Okay, I’ll say it. Your file said you found your neighbor’s kid crying outside and he told you his teacher was a molester. You then went straight to the guy and killed him. You don’t like people who hurt kids. Skip will never stop hurting Peter. I need your help to stop him from hurting Peter again.”

“You know, you kill one guy, and all of a sudden you’re ostracized from society.”

“Wade!”

“I’m not saying 'no.' I’m saying, let me look into what you’re saying. See you around, Stark. And you look like shit, by the way.” 

The other inmate started to quickly stroll away from Tony. Tony began to run after the man but was overcome with an onslaught of dizziness. Bracing himself against the wall, he slid down and started panting. 

“Oh, fuck. Who knew not drinking suddenly after 30 odd years was going to make you feel like shit?”

Tony contemplated going to medical and riding out the withdrawals in a morphine haze. But no, even impaired he needed to keep an eye on Peter. And he couldn't have Skip up and running while he’s in the hospital wing. Tony got up on shaky legs and, half-blind from his migraine made his way back to his cell. 

Falling onto the bed, Tony started to consider ordering just a small amount of liquor, just to take some of the edges off. He took out his phone and looked at what Peter was doing. Peter, who looked exhausted, was gnawing at his fingernails and was looking agitatedly at his phone. Tony’s desire to drink left him at the sight. 

“Karen? Call me if anything happens to Peter, alright?

“Of course, Mr. Stark”

Tony settled into the bed and attempted to sleep off his withdrawal.

_ Later  _

Tony had woken up to Karen’s alerts of an old man harassing Peter. Tony, however, was so disoriented he couldn't understand the situation in the slightest and asked Karen to proceed in what the AI thought would be best to handle the situation. Tony fell back into an uneasy sleep while Karen called May to return to the apartment. 

Hours later, Tony rolled out of his bed in a cold sweat and practically crawled to his toilet. Tony was hunched over the toilet, vomiting, and retching. After what felt like hours to Tony, he finally rested his head against the cell wall. Reaching for his phone, he looked at the current feed of Peter who was distressedly looking at his phone. Tony backtracked at the texts and saw the issue. 

Luke had blocked Peter without warning. The little coward blocked him.

And now Peter was confused about why his texts weren’t going through. Tony had a moment of anger towards the little bastard for hurting Peter,  _ but  _ he was thrilled that this was the end of Peter ever seeing the other teen again. Tony watched, saddened at how upset Peter was over being blocked. Peter tossed his phone and fell into bed. After yelling at May, Tony could hear the soft sounds of crying over the speaker. 

_ Next day _

Tony watched the visibly agitated Peter  disinterestedly  watch the movie May had put on. Tony’s nausea was somewhat at bay but his migraine was on full force. After hearing Peter’s refusal to sit on the couch, Tony looked into anonymously sending a brand new one to the apartment. Tony switched to the other cameras in the building. He was smiling in glee as he watched Skip’s aunt receive her sudden eviction. 

“Serves you right, you fucking hag.” 

He switched back to the Parker’s apartment camera to see May nervously telling Peter she was going to go down to watch the disturbance below.

Tony had to stop looking at the screen. He reminded Karen to call him and to keep detailed notes on Peter’s and May’s doings. Tony laid back in his bed and attempted to will his migraine away. He had dozed off when the phone’s buzzing awoke him. He reached over and noticed his hand’s tremors. He was shaking all over. It took him some time but he finally unlocked the phone.

“Did you get rid of him yet?”

“H-hello, N-Nat. Not yet, but i-it’s happening.”

“You sound like shit. Do I need to call someone there to take out the trash?”

“Just a little bug. I’m fine. How’s Peter?”

“You weren’t watching?”

“I’m a little busy, Nat, so why don’t you give me the cliff notes?”

“He’s not doing too well. May either. Luke broke up with Peter. And given all that's happened in such a short amount of time, I’m worried he’s going to have a nervous breakdown.”

“No. No, you need to stop that from happening. Fucking help him.”

“I’m trying, Stark. I have to go. Unlike you, I’m not taking my time to finish what needs to be done. Now go fucking end the monster that hurt Peter, or I will find someone there that will.” 

The dial tone was deafening to Tony’s sensitive ears. A wave of nausea was overcoming the man. Tony looked at Peter’s camera to find the teen openly sobbing in front of his desk. The image broke Tony’s heart. Tony turned the phone off and pulled his pillow over his face.

  
  
  


_ Tony smiled as he looked at Peter from his reclined beach chair. Peter was currently in the ocean swimming back to shore and towards Tony. _

_ “Hey, lazy! Come on into the water.” _

_ “Nah, I prefer to sit back on dry land and watch. Got a good view up here of a cute guy.” _

_ “That’s no fun.” Peter pouted.  _

_ “I’m having the time of my life.” _

_ “Well, I'll just have to tempt you to follow me into the water.” _

_ “Oh yeah? Like a siren? What are you going to do? Sing to me?” _

_ “Nope.” _

_ Peter leaned over and kissed Tony. Tony hummed into the kiss when suddenly Peter leaned back, breaking the kiss.  _

_ “Come on. You get more if you follow.”  _

_ Peter gave a cheeky smile as he walked towards the water. Tony followed close behind, grabbing and touching the other man playfully. Peter suddenly turned around and looked directly at Tony. _

_ “Why did you let that happen to me?” _

_ “What did you say, Peter?”  _

_ The atmosphere stopped smelling of the fresh sea breeze and the sky swirled from blue to black.  _

_ “It’s your fault that it happened. If you weren’t such a drunk piece of shit and actually tried to get out, Hell, if you weren’t blacked out, you would’ve seen those guys putting in the door code. You failed me, Tony. You fucked up.” _

_ “Peter, I’m sorry. I’ll -” _

_ “You what? You still haven’t killed Skip. Natasha took care of the men who hurt me already."  _

_ “Peter, -”  _

  
  


Tony awoke with a start and immediately ran to the toilet to vomit. The nightmare, still very fresh in his mind enflamed him with a determination. He would end Skip tomorrow no matter what. 

  
  


_ Next day _

Despite the headache and tremors, Tony made his way through the unit. He was going to find Wade first and if he was no help then to Weasle to buy a weapon. Peter’s nightmare would end today. As he walked the unit, Wade appeared in front of him. 

“Stark. Follow me.”

Tony closely followed him to the other man’s cell.

“Describe your nephew.”

“Peter? He has light brown hair, brown eyes. A little short. Why?”

Wade pulled out a picture from his pocket and flashed it to Tony. It was a photo of Peter.

“Where’d you get that?”

“After you told me about a certain someone, I looked into him. Luckily, he’s been out of his cell talking to police and, while snooping, I found a big, gross box of pictures of your nephew covered in, well I don’t think I need to say what. I grabbed the least gross picture.”

Tony made a disgusted sound at that.

“But hey, I’m convinced. I made the arrangements. You have a decision: you can stay here and I’ll tell you when it’s over, or you can follow and watch. I don’t care if I have an audience.”

“I want to do it. I want to be the one that does it.”

Wade laughed softly. “You ever kill anyone?”

Tony shook his head.

“It’s not a light decision. But hey, if you follow, maybe you can stomach doing it.”

Wade moved away and opened the cell door. 

“So, what will it be?”

Tony moved toward Wade and closely followed the man as Wade led them through the prison. Wade led Tony to a discrete hallway with a guard by the door. Wade waved at the guard. 

“Hey there, Logan. Ready to see nothing, hear nothing while we go into this room that happens to not have any cameras pointing at it?”

“You can go in, but someone is beating you to your guy.”

“What?!” Wade grabbed the door and wrenched it open, running inside with Tony confusedly following close behind. 

Inside the small storage room was a large inmate whose back was to Tony and Wade. Moving further, Tony noticed the larger inmate was holding Skip by the neck, his feet dangling, his face was purple from lack of oxygen. Wade made an offended noise.    
  


“Cable! Hey, that’s my kill!”

The inmate slowly turned around, not stopping on choking the other man and shrugged. 

“He was bragging in the meal line this morning about sending guys to rape a kid. Couldn’t let someone like him live. You piss around, Wade, you lose the kill.”

“God, Cable you suck.”

“Are you guys serious? Are you really doing this?” Tony cringed, looking at Skip, his face turning a deeper purple, his hands weakly swatting at Cable’s larger ones.

“Yep.” And with that, Cable squeezed harder on the man’s neck, his eyes rolling and his hands falling away. After a moment of stillness, Cable gave a little shake to the man.

Wade walked closer. 

“Dead?”

Cable grunted in affirmation and released his grip, Skip’s body crumpling to the floor, limp. Tony carefully walked over and found the man to be deceased. He looked back at the two other men pettily squabbling.

“I investigated him! I went through his cell, I had dibs!”

Cable grunted. “I got to him first. Deal with it.” 

Tony silently followed as the men walked into the corridor. The guard grunted and put his hand out to the men. 

“My fee?”

The two inmates looked over to Tony who blindly reached into his pocket, took some bills out, and placed them in the guard’s hands. Wade grabbed Tony’s shoulder and started leading him down the hall, calling over his shoulder to Cable.    
  


“I’ll get you back, Cable!”

Tony walked with Wade back through the prison. His headache and nausea were gone for the first time in days. Tony blinked into awareness when he realized Wade had led them back to Tony's cell.

“Hey, sorry you didn’t get your chance. But feel better?”

“I…….think so?”

“Good! See you in AA!”

And with that, the man cheerfully made his exit. Tony mechanically walked into the cell and took the phone out. He noticed he had several missed calls from his lawyer, but called Nat first. She answered immediately.

“Stark?”

“It’s uh, finished. He’s gone. Peter’s safe now.”

“Did he suffer?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’ll go over there now. Peter may need me when he finds out.”

“Great. Good. Yeah.”

The woman hung up. Tony fell back into his bed and scrubbed at his face. He inhaled and exhaled a few times before dialing his lawyer’s number.

“Tony! Hey pal. Say 'Thank you Elijah' for me.”

“Uh, what? Why would I -,”

“Nuh-uh. First things first. 'Thank you, Elijah.' I know from experience, it’s like pulling teeth to get a thank you. So that first, then news.”

“Thank you, Elijah?”   
  


“You’re welcome! And hey, we can celebrate when you get out. You know, a great thank you gift is that car you were showing off at the stock meeting. The  Aston Vulcan thing?

“What are you talking about?”

“I just figured you would love to thank me with something tangible for what I did for you.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, Tony, I made you a free man. You’re getting out this week, buddy.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skippyjo94 edited  
> Comments give me life. Seriously I crave any validation.  
> And because I personally love my chapter titles here's the remainder of the fic's chapters -  
> ch 13 I have lost every battle I've left up to fate (Peter)  
> ch 14 I just landed on shore and its nothing like home (Tony)  
> Ch 15 Don’t look back; I’m afraid you may see something you don’t want to


	13. I have lost every battle I have left up to fate (Peter)

“What?”

May nodded. She was smiling with watery eyes.

“Skip’s dead, Peter. Isn’t that great? It’s over, he’s gone.”

Peter felt dizzy and overwhelmed. He noticed Natasha taking a step closer to him.

“May? Maybe I should have a quick session with Peter?”

The other woman looked back and forth between the two, smiling more as she spoke.

“What, why? Isn’t this great, Peter? Everything will be fine now.”

“H-how did it. What- what happened?”

“Murder. I was told that he was murdered by another inmate. Given what he was in for, I’m shocked it took this long. But it’s great, isn’t it?”

May started to walk towards Peter and tried to hug the teen. Peter roughly pushed her away. Natasha approached closer while May looked dismayed. 

“Peter? Are you okay? Why don’t we have a session in your room?”

“No, I don’t want a session. I don’t, I don’t, I don’t.” Peter began breathing hard, his vision was becoming bleary.

May was trying to get closer to him when Natasha stopped her. 

“Have you taken any of the sleeping medication I prescribed? You’re not looking well.”

Peter gave a half-hearted laugh. “Because I’m not well! I’m not okay! This doesn’t suddenly make it okay! I’m not fine, stop looking at me like that, May! Like I’m breaking, I’m not.”

May had her hands over her mouth and was crying, looking at Peter. Natasha motioned for the other woman to step back further.

“Peter, I think we should talk. Why don’t we go to your bedroom?”

“Let’s not and say we didn’t.”

Natasha looked displeased. “Peter, I know you’re probably feeling a lot right now. It's alright, feelings are never wrong. But I think -”

“No. I don’t want to talk. Just. Just leave me alone!”

Peter cried out as he turned around and the bedroom door slammed closed. Natasha looked behind her to May, crying, rubbing her head, and looking beseechingly at Nat.

“I-I -I don’t understand. I thought he would be happy?” Natasha led the woman to sit at the kitchen table where she sat opposite.

“I think he’s just a little overwhelmed at the moment. It’s a lot to take in.”

“I felt so _happy_. When the prison called me, all I could think was, 'Good, that monster that hurt my baby is dead and gone.' I wanted to shake the hand of the guy that did it. I thought- I thought he would be jumping for joy?” May wept into her hands.

“I think he just needs some time to process things, May. I think you just need to give him some time and maybe a little distance?”

May snorted into her hands. “How can I? Every time I give him distance, he gets hurt. I left and that pig hurts him. I left and fucking men break in and hurt him, I left and fucking Luke’s grandfather was screaming at him. Blaming him for what happened!”

“What? What happened?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“No, he didn’t please tell me.”

“I fucking left and the tablet calls me to come right back, saying a man was throwing homophobic slurs at Peter from the front door. I ran up here as fast I could to find him hyperventilating while Luke’s grandfather was yelling at him. I saw red, Nat. I wanted to murder him. How dare he say that to Peter, but Peter was on the floor and I went to him instead. And he needs me now, but what do I do? Please, Nat?”

“I think you might need to see someone for therapy. And I think you need to just let him feel things. Let him process what's happened. And I hate to say this, but you can trust leaving Peter alone. Just check the tablet and make sure it’s charged and he will be safe.”

May laughed. “I never knew a tablet would be so - I don’t know. Christ, that tablet is a better caretaker than me.”

“Don’t say that May. But I think for now it’s safe to rely on it for help.”

“Do you mind if we talk more? I think there are things Peter hasn’t told you about. Things I think you should know.”

“Please. I think that will help me with Peter more.”

“Well, first off the couch is a problem.”

_Later_

Hours later inside Peter’s bedroom, Peter glared at the ceiling. His anger had still not abated. He did not know why he felt angry and then he felt angry about feeling angry. He felt utterly overwhelmed and confused about how to feel and he still could not sleep. 

Peter inhaled and got up from the bed. He quietly opened the door to gauge where May was. He poked his head out enough to see May watching TV from one of the chairs. Peter inhaled and walked back into the bedroom. 

He sat at his desk and turned the laptop back on. Peter scowled at all the notes from his missed classes. Even if he was exempt from actually working on anything this week, it wouldn’t excuse how behind he’d be, come next week. Peter sighed and rested his head on the desk.

_“Petey.”_

Peter leapt from the desk breathing hard; he looked all around the room searching for anyone. He swallowed and rubbed his head. He glanced at the time. He had dozed off for eight minutes this time. He walked over to his bedside table and picked up his new sleeping medication bottle. He attempted to open it but his hands were shaking so much he was having a difficult time. Growing frustrated, he pulled too hard and the lid popped off, the contents falling all over his lap. Exasperated, he scooped the pills onto his bedside table, took two pills in hand, and walked towards the kitchen. 

Upon entering the living room, May jumped up from the chair. “Peter. Hey, it's pretty late. Do you want dinner?”

Peter walked into the kitchen, ignoring his aunt. He mechanically got a glass of water. May was walking into the kitchen, watching him.

“Oh good, your sleeping pills. It’s a little early for that. Are you going to bed?”

“Yep.” Peter gulped down the water and the pills. He couldn’t ignore May’s concerned face as she watched. 

“Well okay, hun. You need all the sleep you can get so you can get better.”

The comment annoyed Peter. Without saying a word, Peter rushed past May and went to his room, closing the bedroom door forcefully. Peter inhaled deeply, got into bed, closed his eyes, and settled.

_“Petey. Petey, Petey. Did you miss me?”_

Peter opened his eyes and stumbled out of the bed, falling to the floor. He crawled to the nearest light and switched it on in a panic. The room was empty. He checked the door; it was just as closed as before. Still breathing hard and twitching, he shakily got up. 

He checked the time. Nineteen minutes had gone by since he climbed into bed. He turned off the light and shakily settled back into bed and attempted to fall back to sleep.

_“Petey. Oh, Petey baby. I miss sliding into your cunt.”_

Peter dizzyingly awoke to reality. Shakily, he looked over to his side table clock. He had slept for 35 mins and felt wide awake. He groaned aloud.

_Next day_

Peter yawned, wide and long, at the kitchen table. He was picking at his breakfast. 

“Are you tired, hon? Did the sleeping pills not work?”

The concern in her voice, for some reason, irked Peter greatly. 

“No, they didn’t. I couldn’t sleep last night. _Again_.”

“Maybe two isn’t enough? You do have a fast metabolism, maybe Nat can prescribe something stronger or better?”

“It’s fine, I’ll handle it.”

“I just want you to get better, Peter, and -”

“I get it!”

Peter slammed his hands on the table and he got up and ran to his room, slamming the door shut. Peter fell face first on his bed and began screaming into his pillow. He flailed his arms in frustration and stopped. He stayed there trying not to think and just lay there.

_“Petey!”_

Peter recoiled upwards, falling onto his back. Looking around, he noticed the sun’s change in position. He had slept for a few hours but still felt awful. Peter got up and checked his phone, finding a text from May.

**I saw you were asleep and didn’t want to wake you. I’m going out for a bit. Call me if you need me. Love you.**

Peter looked at the time stamp, noticing the text had been sent only six minutes ago. Peter exhaled and went to his computer, rubbing his eyes as he looked at the notes he'd been sent. The room felt too tight to the teen. He got up, took the laptop with him, and went into the living room. He sat on the couch and winced, getting up immediately and sitting in the side chair instead. He glared at the screen, trying to make sense of all the coursework.

He huffed in annoyance. Karen piped up.

“Peter, are you okay? You seem frustrated.”

“I don't understand the notes and I need to. I don’t want to fall any more behind.”

“Would you like me to connect with your teacher? He has, in the past, shown to be helpful with the classwork.”

Peter exhaled and leaned back in the uncomfortable chair. “No, don’t connect. He’s chaperoning one of the clubs on an overnight trip. I don't want to bother him.”

“I’m sorry, Peter. Is there anyone else I can call to help you?”

Peter thought for a moment and swallowed.

“Yes. Can you please connect to Mr. Anthony?”

“Are you certain, Peter? You weren't happy speaking to him last time.”

“I know but I’m out of options. I’ll just keep it to what I need help with and disconnect.”

“Alright, Peter.” The screen changed to a calling one. A voice came through though the screen was still black, which annoyed Peter because that meant Mr. Antony could see him but he couldn't see Mr. Anthony.

“Hey there, Peter. Need, um, something there?”

“Yes. Mr. Anthony, I was hoping, if you weren't busy, that you could help me?” The teen’s tone was strained and annoyed.

“Sure thing. Happy to help. Look, kid, I wanted to apologize for last time. I was -”

“Did Karen send you my notes? I really want to get through this quickly, sir.” Peter snapped.

“Yeah. I see them here. Let’s get to it then.”

_Later_

Peter nodded at the writing in front of him. 

“Okay, so that's the last one. Anything else?”

“No. Thank you, Mr. Anthony. Hopefully, this is the last time I have to call you. Goodbye.”

“Wait. Please, Peter, I need to talk to you.”

“Mr. Anthony I really need to leave.”

“Please, Peter. I know it’s too late to say I'm sorry, but I am. Really.”

“It’s fine, sir. It doesn't even matter anymore. But I need to go. Thank you.”

“What doesn't matter anymore? Please tell me, Peter.”

Peter groaned. “It doesn't matter because I’m never going to see Luke again and everything is shit and-” 

Peter’s pencil slid off the coffee table and fell under the couch. Peter leaned over carefully avoiding touching the offending piece of furniture only for the pencil to slide further under. Becoming frustrated, Peter yelled out. 

“And I can’t stand even seeing my couch! So unless you can fix any of that, I got what I needed from you. That’ll be all, thanks!” 

Peter expected to hear the end call sound, but instead, he heard the man speak. 

“I can get you a new couch.”

Peter paused, confused by the offer. 

“What did you say?”

“I can get you a new couch.”

“You don't even know why I hate my couch.”

“I figured, whatever reason there is, it's a good one. And, look, if it’ll get you to forgive me, it’s worth it.”

Peter exhaled and rubbed his eyes. “Mr. Anthony-”

“Wait, look, I mean it. I fucked up. I was having a really shitty time with something and I took it out on you and I shouldn't have. I’m sorry, Peter. You don't have to accept it. I won't tell you how to feel, but for what it's worth, I am sorry.”

Peter leaned back and stared at the screen. “Well okay, Mr. Anthony. I accept your apology. Not the couch, but I forgive you.”

“Well, great kid. One step at a time. So tell me what happened? Why didn't it work out with the other kid?”

“Being gay is a sin, didn't you know? And he doesn't want to see me again.” 

Peter felt like crying, his head was pounding and he was getting dizzy. He hung his head down. 

“Well...fuck that guy. Something’s wrong with him, clearly. There’s nothing wrong with you, Peter.”

Peter laughed. “I- I don't know about that.”

“Nope. Fuck that guy, it’s his loss. Hey, since you won't take me up on my offer for a couch, I can arrange to break the guy’s legs?”

Peter laughed at the ridiculous offer. “No. No, Mr. Anthony, please don't say things like that. I don't want to hurt him, I just, I just-”

“Hey, it’s okay. Let it out, or don't. Your body, your choice. I'm just here to listen or offer a couch or break some punk's legs. You know, like a responsible adult.”

Peter chuckled and leaned back in the chair, rubbing his eyes.

“But seriously Peter, you okay? You're not looking too good.”

“I can't sleep. And when I do, I keep having nightmares and my aunt, she acts like, I don't know. I don't know why I'm so angry but I am.”

“And you know what would help?”

“What?”

“Broken legs and a couch.”

“Noooo.” Peter laughed. “I don't know, maybe one of those would help.”

“Yep, I am a genius after all. So, want to talk some more or want me to fuck off?”

Peter thought for a moment. “Well, if you're not busy?”

“Busy? I have all the time in the world. Talk to me, kid, I’ll listen.”

“Okay, I would like that.”

_Later_

“So, I still don’t know who brought me the thing. Like, who gives an expensive gift like that with no note?”

“Maybe the real gift is the mystery, who knows?”

“It’s just so weird, like -” The front door opened. May walked into the apartment looking at Peter curiously. “Hey May.” Peter waved at his aunt. “Like who does that?!” 

“Beats me, but maybe you should just enjoy the gift.”

“I don't know about tha-” 

“Peter? Who are you talking to?”

“Oh, this is Mr. Anthony, May. Mr. Anthony, this is my Aunt May.”

“Uh. Hi.”

“Uh, hello. Peter, I need your help with something. Maybe you should end your call?”

“Sure, May. I’m sorry, Mr. Anthony. I have to go now.”

“I understand. See you, kid.” As soon as the call ended, May spoke hostility. 

“Who the fuck is that, Peter?”

“Mr. Anthony.”

“Why are you talking to an adult male, Peter?”

“Karen connected me to him. I needed help with my homework. It's not like you can help me.”

“Peter, I don't want you talking to strange men, even if Karen suggests them.”

“May, you're being ridiculous.”

“No. I am the parent. I know what's best for you. I want you to listen to me. And not talk to creepy, disembodied voices belonging to adult males!”

“May, I can -”

“No. Just no, Peter.”

Petter huffed and yanked his laptop and notes off the coffee table and stormed out of the room. May ran after close behind.

“Peter! Stop, I want to talk to you. I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm trying to protect you. Peter!”

Peter slammed the door in May’s face. He could hear the woman make an irritated sound before hitting the door. “Okay, Peter. I’m going to let you be, but I expect better from you. You know what strange men can do, I'm protecting you.”

Peter listened to the sounds of May’s footsteps leaving and then she suddenly called back, “And take your sleeping medication! You need to sleep! Maybe then you’ll think reasonably”

Peter threw himself down on the bed and screamed into his pillow.

_Later_

Peter stared at the laptop screen. Next to him was a slightly picked-at dinner, long gone cold. A soft knocking at the door roused him. May entered. 

“Hey, Peter. I'm just coming to get your plate.” As she came closer, her mood shifted. 

“Peter, you hardly ate anything!”

“I’m not hungry, May.”

May groaned. “Peter, I know you're angry at me, but you need to eat, you need to sleep. Why can’t you just do what you need to do to get better?”

Peter remained silent as May grew angry. She shook her head in exasperation.

“We are going to have a session together with Dr. Romanov this weekend. No debate.”

The woman left the room closing the door forcefully. Peter got up from his desk and swiped some of the sleeping pills from his side table, swallowing a few. He grimaced from the taste. He turned off the lights and got back into bed. 

Peter closed his eyes and cleared his mind.

_“Petey. Oh, Petey, I miss cumming down your sweet, tight throat so much.”_

Peter awoke with a start. Quickly, he looked over at his clock and groaned. It was going to be another sleepless night. Peter got out of bed and swiped two sleeping pills from his side table. As he walked towards the kitchen, he stopped when he realized his aunt was in the kitchen, speaking quietly on the phone. He stopped moving back towards his room when he heard his name spoken. 

“I was giving him _space,_ Nat. And I come home and he’s talking on the tablet to some man. How can I give him space when it feels like, any second, someone is just waiting to hurt him?” A pause. Peter figured Natasha was speaking. “I don't know who it was. Peter introduced him as Mr. Anthony. Said he was a tutor but why hasn't he told me that before? And you know what’s bothering me the most? The voice sounded so fucking familiar. But I don’t know anyone by that name. Ugh, Christ, what am I going to do? He won't eat, he won't sleep, he's putting himself in a dangerous situation. I know what you said, but I’m not letting him out of my sight for the next few days. Space be damned.”

Peter walked back to his room, having heard enough. He swallowed the pills dry and attempted to fall back to sleep. Nightmares came immediately.

_Next day_

Peter glared at the kitchen table.

“Peter, what do you want for lunch?”

Peter remained silent.

“Peter? Hey, you're not leaving till you eat. Now, what do you want or do I have to decide?”

Peter stayed silent. May huffed and started clattering around the kitchen. She placed a plate of buttered toast in front of the teen. 

“Eat all of this, Peter.”

Peter pulled the bread apart, eating slowly. May sat opposite watching. 

“I know you're not happy but it will pass, you’ll see. Nat’s coming by on Sunday for a session with both of us and it’ll help.”

Peter stayed silent, still eating slowly. May sighed. 

“Peter, please talk to me. Anything, you can talk about anything and I’ll listen.”

“You haven’t been listening. Mr. Anthony did. Mr. Anthony offered to buy a new couch because I can’t stand looking at ours.”

“What?! Peter don’t tell some - some stranger about these things!”

“Why not? He can actually help with something. And you tell Natasha these things.”

“She’s your therapist, Peter. She needs to know these things to help you. And I don’t want you talking to some creepy man. Bad things could happen with him.”

“Like what? Last I checked, bad things already happened to me!”

Peter got up from the table and started walking back to his room.

“Peter, we’re not done here!” May ran after the teen. “Why is it you can talk to some man, but you can’t talk to me or Nat! We want you better!”

“You just keep telling me how to feel but I don't even know what I'm feeling. I liked talking to him because he just listened! I just want to be listened to!”

May started shaking and tearing up, tears spilling out and over her face.

“I’m - I’m sorry, Peter. I'm sorry I -”

“I know you're sorry. I know you're sorry about Skip, I know you're sorry about Ben, and I know you're sorry about my parents, I know! I am so fucking tired of people apologizing to me about what happened to me. I just. May, please just leave me alone, _please_.”

May tearfully nodded and walked out of the room. Peter sat on his bed and exhaled. He rubbed his eyes still tired from days of so little sleep. He looked at his little pile of sleeping pills, grabbed a few, and swallowed. Grimacing from the taste, he laid down and closed his eyes. 

Peter woke up groggy, saw that he had sleeping pills, reached up and swiped another, swallowing one down and turning over. He woke up not long after and repeated the action. Over the next hour, in a sleep-deprived state, he would accidentally consume half the bottle.

  
  


_Next day_

Peter awoke confused, his head fuzzy. The beeping of the machines startled him. He attempted to look around but his limbs wouldn't move. A sound brought his attention to his left. He sleepily looked over at a red-cheeked, tear-streaked face of May and the cornered face of Natasha. 

“Peter? I’m sorry, I can’t.” The woman got up and ran out of the room. Nat came closer. 

“Peter, you're in the hospital. They had to pump your stomach. You're pretty heavily sedated but can you tell me why?”

Peter struggled to make his mouth work. “W-why, why my stomach?”

Nat looked confused. “You took a lot of the sleeping pills. Do you not remember?”

“I-I-I didn't mean to. I didn't. I thought I took t-two.”

“Are you saying it was accidental?”

“Y-yes.”

“Alright. You get some sleep. I need to speak to your aunt.”

Peter weakly nodded and closed his eyes.

Natasha walked outside the room. May was pacing the hall, scrubbing her face. She ran towards Natasha.

“It’s my fault, isn't it? I drove him to this. I’m so sorry.”

“No, it was just an accident.”

“What?”

“I suspect that in his sleep-deprived state he wasn't aware of how many pills he had consumed. This was all just an accident.”

May exhaled deeply and rubbed her face. “Oh, thank God. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I got back and saw him being loaded into the ambulance.”

“You weren't there?”

“No, I went out to walk for a bit to clear my head. Karen called me and told me to come back. As I was running back, the ambulance was there and -”

“Excuse me? Are you Mrs. Parker?” The two women looked over at a middle-aged woman in a dress suit. She had a large file in her hands and a state enforcer badge on. 

“Y-yes. I'm Mrs. Parker.”

“Hello, I'm Allie Deven. I’m with CPS. I need to speak with you about your guardianship of your nephew, Peter.”

“What about Peter?”

“Well to put it frankly, the state is getting involved. Given the recent incident, and now this suicide attempt, it doesn’t seem like you’re an appropriate guardian for Peter anymore.”

“What! How dare you, Peter is, Peter is -”

“Currently in a hospital bed, having had his stomach pumped. And last week, raped during a B&E. I've looked at the report from Dr. Chuck. He contacted me recently regarding his concerns about your care for Peter.”

“Dr. Chuck is an asshole and a shitty therapist and hasn't been Peter’s therapist in months.”

“And is Peter in therapy now?”

“Well, yeah, his therapist is right here.”

“That's funny, there’s nothing in the report here of a current therapist.” She looked at Natasha. “What's your license number?”

“This isn't about Natasha; you're not taking Peter away from me.”

“I’m afraid it's too late. I've already made my recommendations for Peter to be transferred to the teen mental health unit in St. Luke’s.”

“You can't do that! That place is awful, he'll just get worse.”

“Worse than now? I doubt that. Now excuse me, I have to check with the doctor. We will talk later Mrs. Parker.”

May began crying and fell to the floor, weeping into her hands.

“Oh God, Natasha, what’s going to happen? How can they? How am I-”

“I can fix this.”

“What?”

“I have to make a phone call.”

The woman pulled her phone out and started to walk away. Before she had left the hall completely, May could hear one last thing from Natasha. 

“Tony, I need your help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skippyjo94 edited  
> Comments give me life. Seriously I crave any validation.


	14. I just landed on shore and it's nothing like home (Tony)

"What?"

“I said, you're getting out this week. What, you're like institutionalized or something, can’t cut it on the outside?” Elijah laughed. 

“No, I just  _ really _ ?”

“Yeah, paperwork has been submitted, everything's going smoothly. I’m guessing someone will tell you today or tomorrow, but considering this is the government, you might not be told till like, ten minutes before you’re expected to be released. Pretty silent there, Tony. I thought you would be talking a mile a minute about your plans once you're out. The parties, drinking, women you know you missed out on?”

“I’m just surprised.  _ How _ ?”

“I _ am  _ the best lawyer money can buy, Tony. After you called, I looked at your records and found a paperwork error. To put it as simply as I can, you’re getting out on a technicality.”

“You mean your employees found the error?”

“I pay them, therefore they are an extension of me. But yes. And expect Monday to be the big move. Happy?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“That’s  _ the _ Tony I know. Okay, pal, I've got to go but I look forward to the first of many 'I just got out of jail' parties to come.”

“Wait um, does Pep know yet?”

“Ha! Like I want to be that messenger? No thanks, I’ll give you the honors. Bye, Tones.”

Tony looked down at the phone, shocked and not for the first time that day. He pulled up the cameras, looking for what Peter was doing. Peter was currently glaring at the laptop. Tony quickly looked at the screen, seeing it was coursework. Tony secretly hoped Peter glaring at the work would lead to Peter contacting him. Soon May would be called and be informed of Skip’s death. 

“Karen, I have to make some phone calls. Only alert me if Peter is in trouble, yeah?”

“Yes, Mr. Stark.”

Tony inhaled and exhaled, willing himself to make the uncomfortable phone call with his company’s current CEO AKA his former fiancee.

Tony dialed Happy.

“Hello, Mr. Stark, what can I do for you?”

“Happy, I need to speak to Pepper.”

“You know I can’t -”

“I’m being released early. Happy, I think I need to speak to her sooner than later.”

“Really? Well, she’s in a meeting but I’ll tell her as soon as she’s out. You really getting out soon, sir?”

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

“I look forward to working directly with you when that happens. When’s the date?”

“Monday.”

“I need to talk to Ms. Potts  _ now _ .”

“Go do that.”

Tony looked at the phone, relieved at avoiding Pepper for now. Tony dialed another number.

“Hello?”

“Hey, platypus.”

A loud, drawn-out groan.

“Why does everyone groan when I call?”

“Because Tony, you burned so many bridges.”

“Well…”

“Why are you calling me, Tones?”

“I uh, I’m getting out soon.”

“No shit?”

“Yep like, Monday soon.”

“Wow. Well, I hope you enjoy your getting out party and -”

“No, I’m finished with all that.”

A silent pause could be felt.

“Really, Rhodey, I’m finished. I’m clean, really.”

“Call me skeptical. But that’s hard for me to believe. Are you really?”

“I am and I plan to stay clean when I get out. But I wanted to call you and I miss you, Rhodey.”

“Well, okay. I miss you too. It would be great to see you again  _ as long as _ you’re actually clean.”

“I am. You can visit me on Sunday. Just to see for yourself.”

“I don’t know if I should. But yeah, expect me on Sunday.”

“Great. Good.”

A buzzing sound took Tony’s attention away. It was an alert from Karen.

“Hey, sorry, I have to go.”

“You’re busy in prison? What, have to get back to making license plates? Whatever, I’ll see you Sunday.”

Tony quickly clicked on Karen’s alert, opening the screen to the living room feed. On-screen was May, Natasha, and Peter in the living room, voices raised. Tony winced, hearing Peter scream at the women. Tony exhaled and rubbed his face. 

“Fuck. He didn’t take the news well.” 

Tony continued watching Peter run out of the room in a huff switching to the laptop camera to see Peter angrily fall into bed and bury himself in the duvet. Tony switched to the living room camera to see Nat and May talking. Tony’s felt a headache coming on and figured sleeping it off would be better. Tony set alarms with Karen and fell into the cot and fell asleep.

_ Later _

Tony watched Peter’s distressed form. Peter was shaking and moving in his bed. In the last few hours, Tony noticed Peter would fall asleep and would toss and turn not long after, then leap up, seemingly from a nightmare. Tony’s heart ached seeing the teen’s bloodshot, restless eyes, and frustrated body. It was getting late and Tony could tell Peter was not going to get much sleep tonight. Tony’s phone started buzzing with a phone call.

“Hello, Nat.”

“That didn’t go well.”

“Oh, wow. Who knew that a sweet, kind-hearted boy would be upset that even Skip was murdered. But I guess you don’t know him that well after all then.”

“Shut up, Stark. It needed to happen just, maybe Peter shouldn’t have been told.”

“You think?”

“Don’t think this changes anything, Stark. I still won’t let you near him if I can help it.”

Tony laughed low. “Yeah, if you can help it.”

“What’s that, Stark? Plan to dig your way out?”

“No, Nat, I’m not planning on escaping soon. What happened to the other two? The ones that broke in?”

“Dead.”

“Just like that?”

“Unlike you, I don’t take my time when I have a plan. May knows, but given how Peter reacted, I advised her to not tell him yet.”

“Good.”

“Christ, Tony, what are we doing? Why did I even call you? You saw how Peter reacted?”

“Yes and I can see how he’s not doing well now. Take care of him. That’s why you’re there, to get Peter better.” Tony wanted to say, “for now,” but felt it was not wise to tell the kill-happy Russian that he would be released soon.

“I will. I’m going to do more sessions with Peter and May. Goodbye, Stark.”

Tony went back to watching Peter, wishing he could comfort the teen now.

“Soon,” Tony spoke to the screen.

_ Next day _

Tony walked the prison hallway, making his way back to his cell. He had been summoned and informed of his sudden release with a date and time given and his last meeting with Charles tomorrow about his exit interview. A sudden body stopped in front of Tony. 

“What the fuck, Stark?”

Tony walked around the man and walked faster. The man quickly followed.

“What do you want, Weasel?”

“I heard that you’re getting out next week, what the fuck?”

“What the fuck are you angry about? What, are you going to miss me?”

“Miss your money. I’ve never had a client pay me to not sell them anything. I’m going to miss that.”

Tony stopped in front of his cell, looking at the other man. “I’m so touched. Goodbye, Weasel.”

Tony opened his cell door and started to close it.

“Wait, hey, how about like, a charity thing. Pay me and see it as helping the needy?”

“Goodbye, Weasel.”

Closing the door, he could hear Weasel continue speaking. 

“Aw, fuck you too. Hey, my cellphone? Can I at least get that back? I can re-sell that.”

“No, I’m giving it to Wade. But feel free to try and repossess it from him. I'm sure he’ll be happy to comply.”

“Fuck you, Stark.”

Tony watched the man walk off. Only once he was out of sight did Tony take his phone out of its hiding spot, quickly going to view Peter who was looking at his laptop looking angrily at the screen again. A quick look answered Tony’s curiosity. Peter was glaring at his classwork and to Tony’s surprise, Peter suddenly got up and took the laptop with him. 

Tony switched to Karen’s camera, watching Peter set the laptop and his notebook on the coffee table, the teen avoided the couch. Tony still could not think about how to replace the furniture discreetly. Tony watched as Peter continued to stare at the laptop screen, the frustration could be felt through the camera. 

Shockingly, Peter wanted Karen to connect to Tony for help. Tony nervously accepted the call and spoke to the teen. 

“Hey there, Peter. Need, um, something there?”

_ Later _

Tony was smiling. On-screen Peter was happily talking about his birthday and the odd, very expensive gift that had no name attached to it. Tony noticed that Peter avoided all mentions of Luke like the plague. That alone made Tony ecstatic. The teen continued to animatedly speak about the expensive gift. Tony desperately wanted to tell the teen that he bought it and that soon Peter could expect a whole slew of gifts. An alarm at the apartment’s front door alerted him. Tony watched as May walked into the complex and was making her way into the apartment. Tony exhaled. He didn’t want to cut Peter off so soon, but May had heard him on the phone and he didn’t want to risk her hearing his voice again. 

Tony couldn’t risk the woman asking why Peter’s tutor had called to tell her that Peter was being attacked.

“Like, who does that?!”

Tony was carefully thinking about how to say goodbye to the teen when May spoke. Tony didn’t miss the suspicious look May was giving the tablet screen.

Tony carefully said, “Hi,” to the woman attempting to not expose too much of his voice to the woman. 

The woman asked Peter to hang up the call. The teen was oblivious, but Tony wasn’t. As soon as the call ended the woman’s hostile tone made Tony wince.

Tony watched the two fight loudly over Tony’s call. As the fight broke off to Peter running to his room, Tony knew what he needed to do. 

“Happy, I need info on a job.”

“Uh, sure, Mr. Stark. A job for you?”

“What?  _ No _ . What do we have that an RN can do? I need something high paying. If it doesn’t pay well, then I’ll make it pay well.”

Tony could hear keys typing. 

“We do have a position open for someone to liaison with the medical development floor? I think an RN can do that, but it would require some training in our California offices.”

“How long?”

“I’m guessing three months? The pay is already pretty good.”

“Double it; the pay and training. I need you to make the job offer to someone. Keep the position open and wait for my instruction.”

“Yes sir. I should tell you that Ms. Potts was not pleased with the message.”

“Oof. Well, we’ll get through that mess soon.”

Tony hung up the call. He would get May on his side. He just needed to plan some things out, but he’d make it work. No matter what, Tony will get to Peter.

_ Later _

Tony was growing distressed. On-screen, Peter was clearly in the throes of a nightmare. Tony yearned to reach out and still the teen’s discomfort. Just a few more nights and Tony will finally be united with his boy. The call feature popped up. Tony reluctantly answered.

“What the fuck did you do?”

“Late night, Nat?”

“Shut up. You just can’t leave well enough alone. May called me, creeped out that some man with a familiar voice was talking to Peter through the tablet. Leave him alone, Stark. Let him heal, let him be a teen. Go find a fucking adult who’s balls have dropped to fuck.”

“That’s a pretty crude way to talk about Peter, Nat.”

“Fuck, Tony, what’s your endgame? What is going on in that alcohol deluded brain of yours that thinks this will end happily for you? That Peter is just going to fall into your arms? When will you tell him you stalked him from prison? Would you even wait for him to be legal before you _ force _ yourself on him?”

“Watch yourself, Nat,” Tony growled. “I know plenty of your secrets, too.”

The woman laughed. 

“And you know what, Stark? I don’t fucking care. You’re stuck in there and I’m out here with Peter. You won’t be out for years and, by then, I’ll make sure -”

“I’m getting out Monday. And I won't need you anymore. I don’t think Peter or May will need you anymore either.” 

Tony hung up the call. Blood boiling and adrenaline going, it was only after a moment he realized. 

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

  
  


_ Next day _

Tony’s joy was matched to Charles' displeasure. Charles sat in his office chair, looking annoyed at the other man. Charles, finally tired of the staring match, exhaled and rubbed his face.

“Alright, Tony, let’s just get this over with.” The man turned to his computer and began typing. “This is your exit interview. The first question is 'do you have a job lined up when you re-enter society?'”

“Does being filthy rich count?”

Charles sighed.

“Next. Do you have a place of residence ready?”

“I think I have like, fifteen houses? Who can keep track? But I intend to stay in my penthouse in Manhattan.”

“Do you feel you have been rehabilitated in your time here?”

“Eh.”

“Tony, please, for once take something seriously.”

“Come on, lighten up. I'm just being an asshole, Charles, why so angry? You know I’ll be fine. I have money.”

“My problem, Tony, is I'm worried about you. I’m worried that you will just go back to how you were and I’ll read about you dying in your own sick in a year.”

“I'm clean, Charles.”

The man gave a doubtful look at Tony.

“No, really Charles, I am. Look, I can’t prove it, but I promise and I'm going to stay clean.”

“And what happened to cause that? After everything, after how I last saw you, what in the world happened that made you finally stop?”

“I fucked up and someone I care about was hurt because of it.”

“Are you going to make it up to them when you get out?”

“Yes.”

“Well, a better reason than I thought originally. I still would like you to attend a last AA meeting tomorrow but honestly, I can't tell you what to do at this point. Now, let's just get through these questions already. I want to get home early to be with my fiance.”

Tony winced and looked down at his hands. 

“Sorry about that. What I said to you before. I was wrong.”

Charles looked at Tony shocked.

“Who are you?”

_ Later  _

Tony happily walked back to his cell. In his hands, he had his withdrawal paperwork and information on transitioning out of prison and how to stay clean and sober. As he passed a trash can, he tossed the information packets away. Tony happily whistled as he entered his cell and pulled out his phone. His happiness snapped away the moment he looked at the screen. A red alert message was on the screen. He quickly opened the phone and spoke to Karen.

“Karen, what's wrong?”

“Peter has consumed multiple tablets of his sleeping medication; medical intervention is recommended. He is currently alone in the apartment.”

“Shit. Call May now. What's her eta?”

“I estimate fifteen minutes for her to run back.”

“Fuck, call an ambulance now.”

“Done. The emergency services will arrive in minutes. What are your further instructions?”

“I want him to go to one that SI owns. And get me, Dr. Helen Cho, she’s the best doctor I know. I want only her to take care of Peter.” 

Tony watched on as the EMTs made their way into the apartment, taking the teen away. He switched camera to camera watching Peter leave the apartment and into an ambulance.

With the outside cameras, Tony watched a tear-streaked May scream and run-up to the ambulance and get into the back with Peter’s sleeping form. The vehicle sped away, taking Peter further than the teen had been in over a year. Tony’s panic still did not abate. 

“How the fuck did this happen, Karen?”

Karen played back the footage showing that while Tony had been lazily poking fun at Charles, Peter had taken sleeping pill after sleeping pill. Guilt overtook him, realizing that, once again, he had failed to protect Peter. Tony hacked into the hospital cameras, watching Peter be put on a gurney and water pumped into him, seeing his boy wheeled still asleep in the halls and placed in what Tony knew was one of the best hospital rooms. Having no cameras in the rooms themselves, Tony watched from the hallway’s security camera and used May’s cellphone mic to listen in. Not long after Peter was wheeled into his room, Natasha was running the halls towards May. 

Tony strained his ears to hear the two women talk. May was tearfully speaking, trying not to hyperventilate while speaking to the other woman.

“I-it’s all my, my, my f-f-fault.”

“No, May, it’s not.”

“I- I- I- I need t-t-to get things from the house for, for P-Peter.”

“Go. I’ll be here. I promise I won’t leave Peter’s bedside. Go back to the apartment, get an overnight bag, and Peter’s things. Here, take this for a cab.”

“T-t-thank you, N-Nat.”

Tony continued watching from the hallway camera. All he could see was the very end of Peter’s bed. He was startled when a message from Karen alerted him that the tablet was being moved.

“What do you mean?”

Karen played the footage of May frantically walking around the apartment, obviously rushing to get back to Peter. And as she turned to leave, she walked up to Karen’s tablet and took it as well. Tony watched on the screen that the GPS in the tablet was moving with May’s cellphone towards the hospital.

Once the woman was inside the hospital room, the tablet camera was reactivated from inside the room. Tony had a perfect view of Peter sleeping. Nat looked at the tablet curiously.

“May, why did you bring  _ that _ with you?”

May sniffled and wiped her nose. 

“It’s just... it keeps saving Peter, you know? It told me every time he was in trouble and like, why stop trusting it now? At least when I fail again, it can alert someone, someone who could protect him.” 

May gave a dark laugh and then burst into tears. Natasha was next to the sobbing woman attempting to comfort her. 

“May, it’s alright. Peter is alright and when he wakes up tomorrow, we’ll find out what we need to do from here.” 

May hugged Natasha, burying her face into Nat’s shoulder. Nat glared directly at the tablet’s camera mouthing, “I see you.” May continued to cry into Nat.

“I just, I just wish I could take him away from e-everything. Just keep him safe with me. A-and p-protect him. He, he needs to be protected.”

Tony had a sudden thought. Peter did need protection. He needed to be kept somewhere safe. Somewhere that someone -  _ no _ . Tony can protect him. Tony pulled up the phone feature and dialed Happy, still keeping an eye on his boy’s sleeping form. 

“Hello, Mr. Stark, what can I do for you?”

“I need you to make some modifications to my penthouse. And they need to be ready by Monday.”

_ Later _

Tony rubbed his face, trying to stay awake. On-screen Peter was still sleeping with May and Nat sleeping on the hospital chairs next to the bed. He was nodding off when the phone started to buzz. Tony looked at the ID, confused at who could be calling.

“Hello?”

“Tony.”

“Pep. Uh, hey.”

“Happy informed me of your upcoming removal from the penitentiary system. I figured we should get this over with.”

“Get what over with?”

“Can I expect to be fired once you're out?”

“What? Why would I do that?”

“You don't want to take back your company?”

“No. I left the best person to run it, Pep. I don't want any involvement with it unless it’s working on tech in the privacy of my home. I don't want any wet behind the ears engineers bothering me.”

“And where would your home be, Tony?”

“I was hoping for the penthouse?”

“In the tower? Fine. I know you had Happy make some alterations, so it’s fine. It’s late and I knew I needed to call you, I think I should be going.”

“Pepper? Wait, I know I’ve fucked up, but I’m sorry for what it’s worth. You ever think of me, Pep?”

“Every time I see shit on the sidewalk.” 

The call ended and Tony, stunned, needed a moment to just stare at the phone. 

  
  
  


Next day

Tony stared out into the room blankly as the voices in the AA meeting melted away in his mind. He could feel the cellphone in his pocket, he was never going to let himself be away from Peter again. Hank’s voice cuts through Tony’s mind.

“Well, I think that just about does it for this session, unless someone wants to speak?”

Tony felt his hand go up. Much to the counselor's surprise. 

“Oh, Tony. Guys this is Tony’s last session with us. He’s getting out in a few days, so everyone, let’s give our full attention to him. Please talk, Tony.”

“I...I have thought too much and felt too little. I used alcohol to numb what I know and what I know is the one thing I wanted to be, more than anything, was to be happy, a feat I fail at nearly every second of my life. I just want to be happy and it took me failing to protect someone I care about to really know that. I have spent my life surviving and living from vice to vice, chasing that brief feeling of happiness. But surviving isn't living. I failed someone who needed protection and I don't intend to fail him again. I’m done. I won't drink again, because I couldn't live with myself if I failed him again.”

Tony felt his eyes prickle with tears and a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Wade’s hand on his shoulder.

“Bring it in, buddy.”

Tony stood up as the other man embraced Tony. The small group clapped. Hank spoke up.

“This is just astounding, Tony. I never thought you would ever have a breakthrough.”

Tony closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of Peter in the hospital bed, and jumped.

“Wade, get your hand off my ass.”

_ Later _

“Tony, I need your help.”

“I know, first you need to keep moving away. I can see May watching and listening and I don’t think either of us wants her to catch on, do we?”

“How did you-” She looked up at the nearest hallway camera and quickly shifted to glaring. “Really, Tony?”

“Are you really in a position to judge? Keep moving forward and stop when you get to the end of the hallway.” 

“I fucking hate that I need your help. Do I need to even explain what happened?”

“Nope, I saw it all. I know the situation.”

“Tony, you didn't cause this did you?”

“No, absolutely not. I could never risk Peter going into foster care. I know how much May means to him.”

“Oh, that's where you draw the line? Yes to stalking, but no to calling CPS.”

“I’m sorry, who called who for help?”

The woman groaned.

“Yes, fine. Will you help? I know you don’t want Peter to go into something like that. It would be awfully hard to stalk him while he’s in a padded room.”

Tony made an offended noise.

“What  _ does _ Peter need in your opinion?”

“I think he needs more in-depth treatment. Somewhere that will provide quality care.”

“You know, I was thinking just the same thing.”

“Great. So you’ll fix this? And arrange for Peter to go to a good treatment center?”

“I’m arranging to get Peter into the best place for him to be protected and watched out for.”

“Great what’s the name of the facility?”

“My penthouse.”

“What? No. No.  _ No _ .”

“Do you want Peter in foster care? How long do you think a traumatized teen will last in there? No, here’s the plan: he's coming to my penthouse. He will have his own room and you will provide him daily treatment till he’s better. He will have everything needed to get better. And I won’t hurt him.”

“You say that, but really -”

“I promise on my mother’s soul. I won’t hurt Peter. I want him better and I can protect him.”

“What about May? Where does she fit in?”

“Don't worry about her. She'll be offered a good job at SI soon, and can call Peter at any time of the day. Eventually, we can figure out a way for her to visit.”

“I can’t fucking believe this. Do I really have a choice in this? I know Peter sure as fuck doesn’t.” Nat laughed darkly. “I can’t believe you fucking won. You got everything you wanted, Stark, and all it took was a teen to have a nervous breakdown.  _ Congratulations _ .”

The woman hung up the phone and stared at the hallway camera, flicking her middle fingers up at it before briskly running back to May.

Tony watched and listened to the women’s conversation.

“Nat? What are we going to do?”

The Russian gave the other woman a kind smile, switching back into her role.

“There’s nothing to worry about May, it’s going to be taken care of.”

“What do you mean? How-”

“I got Peter into...Peter is going into the best treatment center I can think of.”

“Really? What about ... _ CPS _ ? And how? I don’t think… I don’t think I can afford it-”

“Don’t worry about CPS, it's being taken care of and no, it’s all been financially taken care of. I have a friend in high places and he felt overcome by Peter’s story. Peter will be receiving the best care, all on his dime.”

“I...I can’t believe this. How can I thank you?” May started crying.

“Don’t thank me yet.” 

The woman looked up at the security camera and Tony felt her eyes pierce through him. 

Tony switched to calling who he needed to fix everything with the Parker’s.

  
  


_ Next day _

Tony shifted from foot to foot, nervous in a way he didn’t think he could feel. He was standing in a separate room that connected to the visiting area. In a few moments, Tony would walk through the door and see his best friend that he hadn’t seen in years. The locked door made a loud ringing sound and unlocked. Tony stepped forward. The room had several people in all, looking curiously and happy at the inmates walking in. Tony searched and found Rhodey standing a little ways away from the main cluster and was smiling as he saw Tony. Tony made his way to the corner table with the other man. 

“Tony, fuck, you look like shit. Do they not feed you? And your face! I’ve never seen you without being all trimmed and clean cut.”

“Hey, thanks.”

“I just always thought with your money and influence you would’ve landed in some club med type of jail. Do you even sleep?”

“Like God during the holocaust.”

“I’m sorry, Tony. I’m sorry, I didn’t come sooner.”

“Not your fault. I fucked up, there’s consequences to how much I fucked up. But I want to fix that. I’m sorry that I put you in a position to not want to see me. Have you seen Bruce?”

“Has no one visited you since you’ve been here?”

“Nope.”

“Fuck. No, I think Bruce is in India maybe? He’ll probably make the journey back once he knows you’re out.”

“Good, I miss him.”

Rhodey shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable being there. 

“Do you remember the last time we hung out? Like really hang out together?”

“I don’t know? Was it the party with -”

“No, the last time we hung out was.” The man started laughing. “I don’t even know why I’m bringing it up, it was such a nightmare.”

Tony thought for a minute then realized and started laughing along with his friend. 

“It wasn’t so  _ bad _ .”

“You were drunk and wouldn’t stop speaking Italian to the Olive Garden waiters.”

The two men burst into laughter. 

“I mean, it was  _ funny, _ but I was so mortified. Watching some 17-year-old waiter trying to understand you and you, being the asshole that you are, just kept doing it.”

The laughter slowed down and Tony looked up at his friend’s face, suddenly stone-faced.

“Tony, this place is just...what did you do that was so  _ bad _ ? That you hate yourself  _ this _ much to end up here?”

“I...I did a lot. I know I have a lot to make up for, but I want to start with I’m sorry and I’m clean, I promise.”

“I know I shouldn’t say this so soon, but I believe you. And hey, I can pick you up tomorrow. We can go get a steak.”

“That sounds great.”

  
  


_ Next day _

Tony double-checked his phone, making sure before he wiped it clean, that all his info and collection of pictures of Peter were saved to his online storage. He had made his calls early in the day with Nat regarding the medical transport of Peter to the penthouse. Soon the teen will be set up in his new room. 

Satisfied with the phone, he pressed the necessary options and watched the phone wiped clean. He slid the phone into his pocket and picked up the cardboard box he was provided with to house all his possessions. He took one last look at the cell and walked out, a guard standing by to escort him out. As he walked the hallway, Wade fell into step with Tony.

“So, leaving this paradise so soon? I’m going to miss our little pow-wows.”

Tony exhaled and looked at the guard. “Can I have a moment, please?”

“This isn’t a date; we need to get going.”

Wade made an offended noise, dramatically clutching his chest.

“God, Logan! The love of my life is leaving and you can’t give us a second? You heartless monster f-”

“Alright, alright, five minutes, Stark.” The guard walked ahead further into the hall. Tony looked at Wade and cleared his throat.

“I wanted to thank you for helping me with that thing. And tell you that I’m not going to tell anyone what happened.”

“Tell everyone I grabbed your ass? Well, Starky, it wasn’t that special.”

“What? No, the thing with -”

“Stop talking, Stark.”

Tony was taken aback by the other man’s sudden seriousness.

“Well, here.” Tony brought the phone out and discreetly pushed it to the other inmate’s hands.

“I know it’s not much, but -”

“Not much? Fuck you, this is great! Fuck, I can watch my stories on this. I am like, four years behind. Thanks, Stark!” 

Wade joyfully ran down the hall, not looking back at Tony once. 

"Huh.” Tony walked back to the guard and they made their way back to the processing office. 

Tony was handed his effects and clothing that he came into the prison in and stepped into a small side room to change. It was weird to be back into a suit. Tony walked back into the processing room and took his box of items. The administrative person signed off on some papers and handed them back. 

“Ok, Mr. Stark, you’re a free man. Have a good day now.”

Tony walked out the front doors. Not far ahead, Rhodey was leaning against his car, looking for Tony. He waved at Tony as he walked up. Tony ran-up, meeting his friend, and then chucked his box into the trash can.

“Hey, isn’t that your prison stuff? Don’t you want to keep your fond memories of this place?”

“Nope. Come on, I need a steak and a shave.” Tony was pulling on the side door handle to Rhodey’s car.

“You just got out of prison and you're already trying to carjack me? There’s no hope for you, is there?”

“Platypus, steak, now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Skippyjo94 edited  
> Comments give me life I crave the validation  
> heads up final chapter is short and will be posted later


	15. Don’t look back; I’m afraid you may see something you don’t want to

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is here

Tony examined himself in the store’s mirror. The new suit looked great on him, as did his haircut. In the last few hours since being released from prison, Tony had eaten a massive steak with Rhodey. Soon after their meal, Happy delivered Tony’s new cell phone. Tony decided a good shave and a suit was in order. Rhodey left Tony to his long over-do primping, promising to visit the penthouse soon.

“I want this one and I want to walk out in it, thank you.” He felt a buzzing in his breast pocket, Tony took out his new phone and answered.

“Hello?” His voice cheerful, knowing what this call was.

“Stark. Peter and I are here in your penthouse.”

“And how is he?”

“Sedated to all Hell and back. He’s still knocked out cold. I have him sleeping in...his bedroom. You made sure his room was right next door to yours. Wow, just wow, Stark.”

“It gets a great view of the city. I’ll be there soon, Nat.”

Tony walked out of the store and into his car where it was waiting outside. Tony couldn't look away from his phone. On-screen, Tony smiled at the live feed from Peter’s room. The teen was sleeping restfully in the large bed. Natasha was nearby, examining the well-stocked wardrobe.

“Where to now, Mr. Stark?”

“Penthouse, Happy. I’m ready to go home.”

Tony gleefully walked the penthouse, moving briskly towards Peter. Nat stopped him as soon as he reached the door. 

“Wait, Stark. Just. Are you sure about this?”

“Yep.” Tony walked in and saw Peter’s sweet face resting on the massive bed. The hi-def cameras paid no justice to Peter. He looked  _ perfect _ . Tony walked to the bedside, the teen started to stir awake. Tony suddenly grew nervous. What should he say? Where should he stand? Tony positioned himself several times and quickly abandoned each pose. 

Peter’s limbs felt so heavy. He knew immediately he wasn’t in the hospital room. The bed felt too nice to be a mental hospital either. The teen’s eyes fluttered open. Peter was groggily looking around trying to sit himself up. He noticed the large room was furnished and had floor to ceiling windows, looking out into the city. He stopped looking around the room when he noticed Tony. Before Peter could speak, Tony moved forward and spoke. 

“Welcome home.” And leaned forward and kissed the teen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That is it for part 1. I am going to take a bit of a break before writing part 2 - "I shine only with the light you give me" I have some porny short fics planned before I write part 2. I have a long Peter/Beck, Peter/Tony slow burn angst fic planned to write in 2021 too.

**Author's Note:**

> this is babie's first fic and I am a sensitive monster.  
> 


End file.
